STATE  CF  CALIFORNIA. 

BBNIOIA  DISTRICT 

LIBRARY. 


Bartlett's    American  Exploring  Expedition, 

D.  APPLETON  &  COMPANY, 

Have  the  pleasure  to  announce  that  they  have  just  published  the  following  Important 
National  Work: 

PERSONAL   NARRATIVE 

OF  EXPLORATIONS  AND  INCIDENTS 
IN   TEXAS,  NEW  MEXICO,  CALIFORNIA,  SONOBA  AND  CHIHUAHUA, 

IN  THB  YEABS  1850,  '51,  '52  &  '53. 

CONNECTED  WITH  THB  MEXICAN  BOUNDARY  COMMISSION. 

By  JOHN  RUSSELL  BARTLETT, 
United   States  Commissioner  during  that  period. 

With  very  numerous  Tinted  Illustrations  and  a  Map,  and  over  100  Wood-cuts.    Complete 
in  two  volumes,  octavo,  of  over  500  pages  each,  handsomely  printed  in  pica 
type,  on  extra  fine  paper.    Price  $5,  in  emblematic  cloth. 


The  work  embraces  the  following  distinct  journeys,  performed  during  tho  progress  of 
the  survey : — 

1.  A  Journey  from  Indianola,  Texas,  to  El  Paso  del  Norte. 

2.  A  Journey  to  the  Copper  Mines  in  the  Eocky  Mountains,  near  the  Gila,  and  A  resi- 
dence there  of  four  months. 

8.  A  Journey  to  Arispe  in  Sonora. 

4.  A  Journey  along  the  boundary  line  south  of  the  Gila,  and  thence  through  another 
part  of  Sonora  to  Guaymas,  on  the  Gulf  of  California. 

5.  A  Voyage  down  tho  Gulf  of  California  to  Mazatlan  and  Acapulco,  and  thonco  to  San 
Francisco. 

6.  Various  Journeys  in  the  Interior  of  California. 

7.  A  Journey  from  San  Diego,  California,  by  way  of  the  Gila,  and  through  tho  States  of 
Sonora  and  Chihnahua  to  El  Paso. 

8.  A  Journey  from  El  Paso  through  the  States  of  Chihuahua,  Durango,  Zacatecas,  Coa- 
huila,  and  Tamanlipas,  to  Camargo,  on  the  Lower  Eio  Grande,  and  thence  through  tho  South- 
western part  of  Texas  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

LlST    OF   THE   LARGER   TlNTED    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

VOLTTME  I.— Snow  Storm  on  Delaware  Creek,  near  the  Pecos,  Texas.— 2.  Guadalupe  Pasi 
on  Cookc's  Eoad,  Sierra  Madre,  Sonora.— 3.  Valley  Leading  to  Santa  Cruz,  Sonora.— 4. 
City  of  Hermosillo,  Sonora.— 5.  City  of  Mazatlan,  Pacific  Coast— 6.  City  of  Acapulco, 
Pacific  Coast 

VOLUME  II.— Euins  at  Casas  Grandes,  Chihuahua.— 2.  Geysers,  Pluton  Eiver,  California.— 
8.  Geysers,  Pluton  Eiver,  California.— 4.  Napa  Valley  from  the  Obsidian  Hills,  Califor- 
nia.—5.  Ascent  to  the  Quicksilver  Mine,  New  Almaden.— 6.  View  on  the  Eiver  Gila, 
Big  Horn  Mountain.— T.  Casas  Grandes,  Eiver  Gila.— 8.  Euins  at  Casas  Grandes,  Chi- 
huahua.—9.  Organ  Mountains,  New  Mexico.— 10.  Fort  Yuma,  Junction  of  the  Gila  and 
Colorado  Elvers. 

This  work  will  throw  a  flood  of  light  on  the  distant  and  hitherto  unknown  countries 
which  are  now  attracting  so  much  attention.  The  vast  mineral  wealth  of  the  frontier 
States  of  Mexico  embraced  in  these  explorations — the  new  treaty  with  Mexico,  made  by  the 
American  Minister,  General  Gadsden,  for  the  puschase  of  a  large  portion  of  this  territory— 
the  contemplated  railroad  through  it,  and  the  advantages  offered  for  mining  and  agricul- 
tural purposes  in  our  newly  acquired  territories,  as  well  as  those  contiguous,  render  thii 
work  at  this  time  one  of  th«  most  important  of  the  publications  of  the  day. 


D.   APPLETON  &   COMPANT8  PUBLICATIONS. 

The   Great  Work  on  Russia. 

Fifth  Edition  now  ready. 

RUSSIA    AS    IT  IS. 

BY  COUNT  A.  DE  GUROWSKI. 

One  neat  volume  12mo.,  pp.  328,  well  printed.    Prlco  $1,  cloth. 

CONTENTS. — Preface. — Introduction. — Czarism :  its  historical  origin — The 
Czar  Nicholas. — The  Organization  of  the  Government. — The  Army  and 
. — The  Nobility. — The  Clergy. — The  Bourgeoisie— -The  Cossacks.- 


The  Real  People,  the  Peasantry;— The  Rights  of  Aliens  and  Strangers. 
— The  Commoner. — Emancipation. — Manifest  Destiny. — Appendix. — 
The  Amazons. — The  Fourteen  Classes  of  the  Russian  Public  Service ;  or, 
the  Tschins. — The  Political  Testament  of  Peter  the  Great. — Extract 
from  an  Old  Chronicle. 


Notices  of  the  Press. 

"  The  author  takes  no  superficial,  empirical  view  of  his  subject,  but  collecting  a  rich 
variety  of  facts,  brings  the  lights  of  a  profound  philosophy  to  their  explanation.  His  work, 
Indeed,  neglects  no  essential  detail— it  is  minute  and  accurate  in  its  statistics— it  abounds 
in  lively  pictures  of  society,  manners  and  character.  *  *  Whoever  wishes  to  obtain  an 
accurate  notion  of  the  internal  condition  of  Russia,  the  nature  and  extent  of  her  resources, 
and  the  practical  influence  of  her  institutions,  will  here  find  better  materials  for  his  pur- 
pose than  in  any  single  volume  now  extant." — N.  Y.  Tribune. 

"  This  is  a  powerfully-written  book,  and  will  prove  of  vast  service  to  every  one  who 
desires  to  comprehend  the  real  nature  and  bearings  of  the  great  contest  in  which  Russia  is 
now  engaged." — N.  Y.  Courier. 

"It  is  original  in  its  conclusions;  it  is  striking  in  its  revelations.  Numerous  as  are  the 
volumes  thai,  have  been  written  about  Russia,  we  really  hitherto  have  known  little  of  that 
immense  territory— of  that  numerous  people.  Count  Gurowski's  work  sheds  a  light  which 
at  this  time  is  most  welcome  and  satisfactory." — N.  Y.  Times. 

"  The  book  is  well  written,  and  as  might  be  expected  in  a  work  by  a  writer  so  unu- 
sually conversant  with  all  sides  of  Russian  affairs,  it  contains  so  much  important  information 
respecting  the  Russian  people,  their  government  and  religion." — Com.  Advertiser. 

"This  is  a  valuable  work,  explaining  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner  the  internal  conditions 
of  the  Russian  people,  and  the  construction  of  their  political  society.  The  institutions  of 
Russia  are  presented  as  they  exist  in  reality,  and  as  they  are  determined  by  existing  and 
obligatory  laws."— N,  Y.  Herald. 

"  A  hasty  glance  over  this  handsome  volume  has  satisfied  us  that  it  is  one  worthy  of 
general  perusal.  *  *  *  It  is  full  of  valuable  historical  information,  with  very  interest- 
ing accounts  of  the  various  classes  among  the  Russian  people,  their  condition  and  aspi- 
rations."— N.  Y.  Sun. 

"This  is  a  volume  that  can  hardly  fail  to  attract  very  general  attention,  and  command  a 
\vide  sale  in  view  of  the  present  juncture  of  European  affairs,  and  the  prominent  part 
therein  which  Russia  is  to  play." — Utica  Gazette. 

"  A  timely  book.  It  will  be  found  all  that  it  professes  to  be,  though  some  may  be  start 
led  at  some  of  its  conclusions." — Boston  Attas. 

"This  is  one  of  the  best  of  all  the  books  caused  by  the  present  excitement  in  relation  to 
Russia.  It  is  a  very  able  publication — one  that  will  do  much  to  destroy  the  general  belief 
in  the  infallibility  of  Russia.  The  writer  shows  himself  master  of  his  subject,  and  treats  of 
the  internal  condition  of  Russia,  her  institutions  aud  customs,  society,  laws,  &c.,  in  an  en- 
lightened and  scholarly  manner." — City  Item. 


RUSSIA 


THE 


NEW  YORK: 

D.    APPLETON    AND     COMPANY, 
346  &  348  BROADWAY 

M.DCCC.LIY. 


clS 


\ 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE. 


A  TASTE  for  travelling  has  never  been  with  me  a  fashion ;  I  brought 
it  with  me  into  the  world,  and  I  began  to  gratify  it  in  early  youth. 
We  are  all  vaguely  tormented  with  a  desire  to  know  a  world  which 
appears  to  us  a  dungeon,  because  we  have  not  ourselves  chosen  it  for 
an  abode.  I  should  feel  as  if  I  could  not  depart  in  peace  out  of  this 
narrow  sphere  unless  I  endeavoured  to  explore  my  prison.  The  more 
I  examine  it,  the  more  beautiful  and  extensive  it  becomes  in  my  eyes. 
To  see  in  order  to  know  :  such  is  the  motto  of  the  traveller ;  such  is 
also  mine :  I  have  not  adopted  it ;  nature  gave  it  to  me. 

To  compare  the  different  modes  of  existence  in  different  nations, 
to  study  the  manner  of  thinking  and  feeling  peculiar  to  each,  to  per- 
ceive the  relations  which  God  has  established  between  their  history, 
their  manners,  and  their  physiognomy — in  a  word,  to  travel,  is  to  pro- 
cure for  my  curiosity  an  inexhaustible  aliment,  to  supply  my  thoughts 
with  an  eternal  impulse  of  activity :  to  prevent  my  surveying  the 
world  would  be  like  robbing  a  literary  man  of  the  key  of  his  library. 

But  if  curiosity  cause  me  to  wander,  an  attachment  which  par- 
takes of  the  nature  of  a  domestic  affection  brings  me  back.  I  then 
take  a  review  of  my  observations,  and  select  from  among  the  spoil  the 
ideas  which  I  imagine  may  be  communicated  with  the  greatest  likeli- 
hood of  being  useful. 

During  my  sojourn  in  Eussia,  as  well  as  during  all  my  other  jour- 
neys, two  thoughts,  or  rather  sentiments,  have  never  ceased  to  influ- 
ence my  heart, — a  love  of  France,  which  renders  me  severe  in  my 
judgments  upon  foreigners,  and  upon  the  French  themselves,  for  pas- 
sionate affections  are  never  indulgent, — and  a  love  of  mankind.  To 
find  the  balancing  point  between  these  two  opposing  objects  of  our 

816500 


IV 

affections  here  below,  between  the  love  of  country  and  the  love  of  our 
fellow 'men,  is  the  vocation  of  every  elevated  mind.  Religion  alone 
can  solve  the  problem :  I  do  not  flatter  myself  that  it  has  enabled  me 
to  do  so ;  but  I  can  and  ought  to  say  that  I  have  never  ceased  bend- 
ing towards  attaining  this  means  of  solution,  all  my  efforts  without 
regard  to  the  variations  of  fashion.  "With  my  religious  ideas,  I  have 
passed  through  an  unsympathizing  world ;  and  now  I  see,  not  with- 
out a  pleasurable  surprise,  these  same  ideas  occupying  the  youthful 
minds  of  the  new  generation. 

I  am  not  one  of  those  who  view  Christianity  as  a  sacred  veil  that 
reason  in  its  illimitable  progress,  will  one  day  tear  away.  Religion  is 
veiled,  but  the  veil  is  not  religion ;  if  Christianity  mantles  itself  in 
symbols,  it  is  not  because  its  truth  is  obscure,  but  because  it  is  too 
brightly  dazzling,  and  because  the  eye  is  weak :  as  the  vision  becomes 
stronger,  it  will  be  able  to  pierce  farther ;  and  yet,  nothing  funda- 
mental will  be  changed :  the  clouds  are  not  spread  over  celestial  ob- 
jects, but  over  our  earth. 

Beyond  the  pale  of  Christianity,  men  remain  in  a  state  of  isolation ; 
or,  if  they  unite,  it  is  to  form  political  communities  ;  in  other  words, 
to  make  war  with  their  fellow-men.  Christianity  alone  has  discov- 
ered the  secret  of  free  and  pacific  association,  because  it  alone  has 
shown  to  liberty  in  what  it  is  that  liberty  consists.  Christianity  gov- 
erns, and  will  yet  more  rigidly  govern  the  earth,  by  the  increasingly 
strict  application  of  its  divine  morals  to  human  transactions.  Hith- 
erto, the  Christian  world  has  been  more  occupied  with  the  mystical 
side  of  religion  than  with  its  political  bearing.  A  new  era  commences 
for  Christianity ;  perhaps  our  grandchildren  will  see  the  Gospel  serv- 
ing as  the  basis  of  public  order. 

But  it  would  be  impious  to  believe  that  this  was  the  only  end  of 
the  divine  legislator ;  this  is  but  His  means. 

Supernatural  light  cannot  be  acquired  by  the  human  race,  except 
through  the  union  of  souls  beyond  and  above  the  trammels  of  all  tem- 
poral governments :  a  spiritual  society,  a  society  without  limits — such 
is  the  hope,  such  the  future  prospect  of  the  world. 

I  hear  it  said  that  this  object  will  be  henceforward  attainable  with- 
out the  aid  of  our  religion ;  that  Christianity,  built  on  the  ruinous 
foundation  of  original  sin,  has  had  its  day ;  and  that  to  accomplish  his 
true  vocation,  misunderstood,  until  now,  man  needs  only  to  obey  the 
laws  of  nature. 


Ambitious  men  of  a  superior  order  of  talent,  who  revive  these  old 
doctrines  by  eloquence  ever  new,  are  obliged  to  add,  in  order  to  be 
consistent,  that  good  and  evil  exist  only  in  the  human  mind ;  and  that 
the  man  who  creates  these  phantoms  may  also  destroy  them. 

The  pretended  new  proofs  which  they  give  do  not  satisfy  me ;  but 
were  they  clear  as  the  day,  what  change  would  they  effect  in  me  ? 
Man,  whether  fallen  by  sin,  or  standing  as  nature  placed  him,  is  a 
soldier  forcibly  enlisted  at  his  birth,  and  never  discharged  until  death ; 
and,  even  then,  the  believing  Christian  only  changes  his  bonds.  The 
prisoner  of  God, — labour  and  effort  are  the  law  of  his  life ;  cowardice 
would  be  in  him  an  act  of  suicide,  doubt  is  his  torment,  victory  his 
hope,  faith  his  repose,  obedience  his  glory. 

Such  is  man  in  all  ages  and  in  all  countries ;  but  such,  above  all,  is 
man  civilized  by  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  may  be  said  that 
good  and  evil  are  human  inventions.  But  if  the  nature  of  man  en- 
gender phantoms  so  obstinate,  what  is  to  save  him  from  himself?  and 
how  is  he  to  escape  that  malignant  power  of  internal  creation,  of 
falsehood  if  you  like,  which  exists  and  abides  within  him  despite  of 
himself  and  of  you,  and  which  has  done  so  ever  since  the  commence- 
ment of  the  world  ? 

Unless  you  can  substitute  the  peace  of  your  conscience  in  place  of 

the  agitation  of  mine,  you  can  do  nothing  for  me Peace ! 

No,  however  bold  you  may  be,  you  would  not  dare  to  pretend  to  it ! 
— and  yet,  peace  is  both  the  right  and  the  duty  of  the  creature  ration- 
ally endowed ;  for  without  it  he  sinks  below  the  brute :  but, — O ! 
mystery  of  mysteries !  for  you,  for  me,  for  all, — this  object  will  never 
be  attained  by  ourselves :  for  whatever  may  be  said,  the  whole  realm 
of  nature  does  not  contain  that  which  can  give  peace  to  a  single  soul. 

Thus,  could  you  force  me  to  assent  to  all  your  audacious  assertions, 
you  would  only  have  furnished  me  with  new  proofs  of  the  need  of  a 
physician  of  souls — of  a  Kedeemer,  to  cure  the  hallucinations  of  a 
creature  so  perverse,  that  it  is  incessantly  and  inevitably  engendering 
within  itself  contest  and  contradiction,  and  which,  by  its  very  nature, 
flies  from  the  repose  it  cannot  dispense  with,  spreading  around  itself 
in  the  name  of  peace,  war,  illusion,  disorder  and  misfortune. 

Now,  the  necessity  of  a  Redeemer  being  once  admitted,  you  must 
pardon  me  if  I  prefer  addressing  myself  to  Jesus  Christ  rather  than  to 
you! 

Here  we  come  to  the  root  of  the  evil !    Pride  of  intellect  must  be 


VI  AUTHORS    PREFACE. 

abased,  and  reason  must  own  its  insufficiency.  As  the  source  of  rea- 
soning dries  up,  that  of  feeling  overflows :  the  soul  becomes  powerful 
BO  soon  as  she  avows  her  want  of  strength ;  she  no  longer  commands, 
she  entreats ;  and  man  approaches  near  to  his  object  when  he  falls 
upon  his  knees. 

Wherever  I  have  set  foot  on  earth,  from  Morocco  to  the  frontiers 
of  Siberia,  I  have  seen  smouldering  the  fires  of  religious  war ;  not 
any  longer,  let  us  hope,  to  be  the  war  of  the  armed  hand,  the  least 
decisive  of  any,  but  the  war  of  ideas.  God  alone  knows  the  secret 
of  events ;  but  every  man  who  observes  and  reflects  can  foresee  some 
of  the  questions  that  will  be  resolved  by  the  future :  those  questions 
are  all  religious. 

Such  were  the  constant  subjects  of  my  meditation  and  my  solici- 
tude during  the  long  pilgrimage,  the  account  of  which  here  follows ; 
an  account  varied  as  the  varying  and  errant  life  of  the  traveller,  but 
in  which  a  love  of  country,  combined  with  more  general  views,  will 
be  always  seen. 

The  circumstance  which  renders  Eussia  the  most  singular  State 
now  to  be  seen  in  the  world  is  that  extreme  barbarism,  favoured  by 
the  enslavement  of  the  church,  and  extreme  civilization,  imported  by 
an  eclectic  government  from  foreign  lands,  are  there  to  be  seen  united. 
To  understand  how  tranquillity,  or  at  least  immobility,  can  spring 
from  the  shock  of  elements  so  opposed,  it  will  be  necessary  to  follow 
the  traveller  into  the  heart  of  this  singular  country. 

The  mode  which  I  employ  of  describing  places  and  denning  char- 
acters, appears  to  me,  if  not  the  most  favourable  to  the  author,  at  least 
the  most  likely  to  inspire  confidence  in  the  reader,  whom  I  oblige  to 
follow  me,  and  whom  I  render  the  judge  of  the  development  of  those 
ideas  that  may  be  suggested  to  me. 

I  arrived  in  a  new  country  without  any  other  prejudices  than  those 
which  no  man  can  guard  against ;  those  which  a  conscientious  study 
of  its  history  imparts.  I  examined  objects,  I  observed  facts  and  indi- 
viduals, while  candidly  permitting  daily  experience  to  modify  my 
opinions.  Very  few  exclusive  political  notions  incommoded  me  in 
this  spontaneous  labour,  in  which  religion  alone  was  my  unchanging 
rule ;  and  even  that  rule  may  be  rejected  by  the  reader  without  the 
recital  of  facts  and  the  moral  consequences  that  flow  from  them  being 
discarded,  or  confounded  with  the  reprobation  that  I  shall  meet  with 
from  those  whose  creeds  do  not  agree  with  mine. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE.  vii 

I  may  be  accused  of  having  prejudices,  but  I  shall  never  be  re- 
proached with  intentionally  disguising  the  truth. 

The  descriptions  of  what  I  saw  were  made  upon  the  spot,  the  re- 
citals of  what  I  heard  each  day  were  committed  to  paper  on  the  same 
evening.  Thus,  my  conversations  with  the  Emperor,  given  word  for 
word  in  the  ensuing  chapters,  cannot  fail  to  possess  a  species  of  inter- 
est :  that  of  exactitude.  They  will  also  serve,  I  hope,  to  render  this 
prince,  so  differently  viewed  among  us  and  throughout  Europe,  better 
known. 

The  chapters  that  follow  were  not  all  destined  for  the  public. 
Several  of  the  early  ones  were  written  as  purely  confidential  letters. 
Fatigued  with  writing,  but  not  with  travelling,  I  resolved,  this  time, 
to  observe  without  any  methodical  plan,  and  to  keep  my  descriptions 
for  my  friends.  The  reasons  that  decided  me  to  publish  the  whole 
will  be  seen  in  the  course  of  the  work. 

The  principal  one  was  the  feeling  that  my  views  were  daily  modi- 
fied by  the  examination  to  which  I  subjected  a  state  of  society  abso- 
lutely new  to  me.  It  struck  me  that  in  speaking  the  truth  of  Kussia, 
I  should  be  doing  something  bold  and  novel :  hitherto,  fear  and  inter- 
est have  dictated  exaggerated  eulogies  ;  hatred  has  also  published 
calumnies :  I  am  not  afraid  of  making  shipwreck  either  on  the  one 
rock  or  the  other. 

I  went  to  Russia  to  seek  for  arguments  against  representative  gov- 
ernment, I  return  a  partizan  of  constitutions.  A  mixed  government 
is  not  the  most  favourable  to  action ;  but  in  their  old  age,  nations  have 
less  need  of  acting  :  this  government  is  the  one  which  most  aids  pro- 
duction, and  which  prepares  for  man  the  greatest  amount  of  prosper- 
ity ;  it  is,  above  all,  the  one  which  imparts  the  highest  activity  to 
mind  within  the  sphere  of  practical  ideas :  in  short,  it  renders  the 
citizen  independent,  not  by  the  elevation  of  sentiments,  but  by  the 
operation  of  laws ;  assuredly  these  are  great  compensations  for  great 
disadvantages. 

As  I  gradually  grew  acquainted  with  the  tremendous  and  singular 
government,  regulated,  or  I  might  say  founded,  by  Peter  I.,  I  became 
aware  of  the  importance  of  the  mission  which  chance  had  intrusted 
to  me. 

The  extreme  curiosity  with  which  my  work  inspired  the  Russians, 
who  were  evidently  rendered  unquiet  by  the  reserve  of  my  language, 
first  led  me  to  think  that  I  had  more  power  than  I  previously  attrib- 


viii  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE. 

uted  to  myself;  I  therefore  became  attentive  and  prudent,  for  I  was 
not  long  in  discovering  the  danger  to  which  my  sincerity  might  ex- 
pose me.  Not  daring  to  send  my  letters  by  post,  I  preserved  them 
all,  and  kept  them  concealed  with  extreme  care ;  so  that  on  my  return 
to  France,  my  journey  was  written,  and  in  my  own  hands.  Never- 
theless, I  have  hesitated  to  publish  it  for  three  years :  this  is  the  time 
which  I  have  needed  to  reconcile,  in  the  secret  of  my  conscience,  what 
I  believed  to  be  the  conflicting  claims  of  gratitude  and  of  truth !  The 
latter  at  last  prevails,  because  it  appears  to  me  to  be  truth  of  a  nature 
that  will  interest  my  country.  I  cannot  forget  that,  above  all  else,  I 
write  for  France,  and  I  hold  it  my  duty  to  reveal  to  her  useful  and 
important  facts. 

I  consider  myself  competent  and  authorized  to  judge,  even  severely, 
if  my  conscience  urges  me,  a  country  where  I  have  friends,  to  analyze, 
without  descending  into  offensive  personalities,  the  character  of  pub- 
lic men,  to  quote  the  words  of  political  persons,  to  commence  with 
those  of  the  highest  personage  in  the  state,  to  recount  their  actions, 
and  to  carry  out  to  the  last  stage  of  inquiry  the  reflections  which 
these  examinations  may  suggest ;  provided,  however,  that  in  capri- 
ciously pursuing  the  course  of  my  ideas,  I  do  not  give  them  to  others 
except  for  just  the  worth  that  they  have  in  my  own  eyes :  this,  it  ap- 
pears to  me,  is  all  that  constitutes  the  probity  of  an  author. 

But  in  thus  yielding  to  duty,  I  have  respected,  at  least  I  hope  so, 
all  the  rules  of  social  propriety ;  for  I  maintain  that  there  is  a  proper 
manner  of  expressing  severe  truths  :  this  manner  consists  in  speaking 
only  upon  conviction,  whilst  repelling  the  suggestions  of  vanity. 

Besides,  having  seen  much  to  admire  in  Russia,  I  have  been  able 
to  mingle  many  praises  in  my  descriptions. 

The  Kussians  will  not  be  satisfied ;  when  was  self-love  ever  known 
to  be  ?  And  yet,  no  one  has  ever  been  struck  more  than  I,  by  the 
greatness  and  political  importance  of  their  nation.  The  high  destinies 
of  these  people,  these  last  comers  upon  the  old  theatre  of  the  world, 
engaged  my  mind  during  the  whole  time  of  my  stay  among  them. 
The  Russians,  viewed  as  a  body,  appeared  to  me  as  being  great,  even 
in  their  most  shocking  vices ;  viewed  as  individuals,  I  considered  them 
amiable.  In  the  character  of  the  common  people  I  found  much  to 
interest:  these  flattering  truths  ought,  I  think,  to  compensate  for 
others  less  agreeable.  But,  hitherto,  the  Russians  have  been  treated 
as  spoiled  children  by  the  greater  number  of  travellers. 


IX 

If  the  discordances  that  one  cannot  help  remarking  in  their  social 
state,  if  the  spirit  of  their  government,  essentially  opposed  to  my  ideas 
and  habits,  have  drawn  from  me  reproaches,  and  even  cries  of  indig- 
nation, my  praises,  equally  voluntary,  must  have  the  greater  weight. 

But  these  Orientals,  habituated  as  they  are  to  breathe  and  dispense 
the  most  direct  incense  o£  flattery,  will  be  sensible  to  nothing  but 
blame.  All  disapprobation  appears  to  them  as  treachery ;  they  call 
every  severe  truth  a  falsehood ;  they  will  not  perceive  the  delicate 
admiration  that  may  sometimes  lurk  under  my  apparent  criticisms — 
the  regret  and,  on  some  occasions,  the  sympathy  that  accompany  my 
most  severe  remarks. 

If  they  have  not  converted  me  to  their  religions  (they  have  sev- 
eral, and  among  these,  political  religion  is  not  the  least  intolerant),  if, 
on  the  contrary,  they  have  modified  my  monarchical  ideas  in  a  way 
that  is  opposed  to  despotism  and  favourable  to  representative  govern- 
ment, they  will  be  offended  simply  because  I  am  not  of  their  opinion. 
I  regret  that  such  is  the  case,  but  I  prefer  regret  to  remorse. 

If  I  were  not  resigned  to  their  injustice,  I  should  not  print  these 
chapters.  Besides,  though  they  may  complain  of  me  in  words,  they 
will  absolve  me  in  their  consciences  :  this  testimony  will  be  sufficient 
for  me.  Every  honest  Russian  will  admit  that  if  I  have  committed 
errors  of  detail  for  want  of  time  to  rectify  my  impressions,  I  have  de- 
scribed Eussia  in  general,  as  it  really  is.  They  will  make  allowance 
for  the  difficulties  which  I  have  had  to  conquer,  and  will  give  me 
credit  for  the  quickness  with  which  I  have  discerned  the  advantageous 
traits  of  their  primitive  character  under  the  political  mask  that  has 
disfigured  it  for  so  many  ages. 

The  facts  of  which  I  have  been  witness  are  recorded  precisely  as 
they  passed  before  my  eyes;  those  which  were  related  to  me,  are 
given  as  I  received  them ;  I  have  not  endeavoured  to  deceive  the 
reader  by  substituting  myself  for  the  persons  whom  I  consulted.  If  I 
have  abstained  from  naming,  or  in  any  way  indicating  these  persons, 
my  discretion  will  undoubtedly  be  appreciated ;  it  is  one  proof  more 
of  the  degree  of  confidence  which  the  enlightened  individuals  deserve, 
to  whom  I  thus  ventured  to  address  myself  for  information  respecting 
certain  facts  that  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  observe  personally.  It 
is  superfluous  to  add  that  I  have  only  cited  those  to  which  the  charac- 
ter and  position  of  the  men  from  whom  I  had  them,  gave,  in  my  eyes, 
an  unquestionable  stamp  of  authority. 


PREFACE. 


Aided  by  my  scrupulous  exactitude,  the  reader  may  judge  for  him- 
self of  the  degree  of  authority  that  should  be  ascribed  to  these  second- 
ary facts,  which,  it  may  be  further  observed,  occupy  but  a  very  small 
place  in  my  narrations. 


PREFACE  TO  THIS  EDITION. 


THE  Translation  of  this  work  enjoyed  great  popularity  on  its 
publication  a  few  years  ago.  It  has  been  out  of  print  for  some 
time ;  and  the  present  crisis  presents  a  favourable  opportunity 
for  re-issuing  it  at  a  price  that  will  place  it  within  the  reach  of 
all  classes  of  the  community. 

In  order  to  preserve  the  continuity  of  interest,  it  has  been 
deemed  expedient  to  omit  from  this  edition  some  details  relating 
to  the  Author's  family,  one  or  two  episodes,  and  a  few  minor 
irrelevant  matters. 

To  facilitate  the  perusal  of  the  work,  the  genealogy  of  the 
Emperor  NICHOLAS  from  PETER  THE  GREAT  is  here  subjoined  : — 


PETER  THE  GREAT,  -  CATHERINE  I., 
d.  1725.  I         d.  1727. 


Anne,  married  Frederick  of                         ELIZABETH,* 
Holstein  Gottorp,  d.  1726.                        d.  childless,  1761. 

PETEE  III.,    «=-  CATHERINE  THE    GREAT, 
murdered,  1762.  1                  d.  1796. 

PAUL,        ~  Mary  of  Wurtemberg. 
murdered,  1801.  1 

1                                            1                                            1 
1.  ALEXANDER,—  Maria  of    2.  Constantine.t  —  Juliene    3.NICHOLAS,- 
d.  1825.           Baden.               d.  1831.           ofSaxe            b.  1796. 
Coburg. 

•  Alexandra 
of 
Prussia. 

4.  Michael,  -Helena  of 
d.  1849.         Wurtem- 
berg. 

1.  Alexander,  Hereditary  Grand       2.   Mario.*       3.  Olga.        4.    Const 
Duke,  b.  1818.                                                                          b.  1 

mtine,        5. 
527. 

Nicholas,         6.  Michael 
b.  1831.               b.  1832. 

»  Between  Catherine  I.  and  Elizabeth,  there  reigned  Peter  II.  (a  eon  of  Peter  the  Great  by  a  former  mar 
riage),  who  died  childless;  Anne,  daughter  of  Ivan  V.  and  niece  of  Peter  the  Great,  who  also  died  childless  in 
1740 ;  and  I  von  VI.  a  grandson  of  Ivan  V.,  who  was  dethroned  and  confined  in  prison  at  Scblusselburg,  wh«re 
he  died,  in  1764,  aged  22. 

t  Renounced  his  right  of  succession  in  favour  of  his  younger  brother  Nicholas. 

t  Married  to  Maximilian,  Duke  of  Lenchtenberg,  who  died  1852. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Arrival  of  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  of  Russia  at  Ems.— Character  of  Russian  Courtiers.— 
The  Person  of  the  Grand  Duke. — His  Father  and  Uncle  at  the  same  Age.— His  Equipages 
and  Suite.— Superiority  of  the  English  in  all  external  Appurtenances.— The  Rhine.— The 
River  more  beautiful  than  its  Banks.— Fire-flies  on  the  Rhine.  .  .  PAOB  1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Conversation  at  Lubeck  on  Peculiarities  in  the  Russian  character.— Burning  of  the  Steamer 
Nicholas  1 5 

CHAPTER  IIL 

Polar  Nights. — Montesquieu  and  his  System.— Scenery  of  the  North. — Flatness  of  the  Earth's 
Surface  near  the  Pole.— Shores  of  Finland.— Melancholy  of  Northern  People.— Prince 

K .—Definitions  of  Nobility  —The  English  Nobility.— Freedom  of  Speech.— Canning. 

— Napoleon.— Confidential  Conversation. — Glance  at  Russian  History.— Institutions  and 
Spirit  of  Chivalry  unknown  in  Russia.— The  Nature  of  an  Autocracy. — Politics  and  Reli- 
gion are  identical  in  Russia.— Future  Influence  of  Russia.— Fate  of  Paris — Prince  and 

Princess  D .—The  Cold-water  Cure. — A  modern  Frenchman  of  the  Middle  Classes. — 

The  Mauvais  Ton. — Agreeable  Society  on  the  Steam-boat. — Russian  National  Dances. — 
Two  Americans. — Steam-boat  Accident.  .......  7 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Marriage  of  Peter  the  Great. — Romodanowski.— Influence  of  the  Greek  Church  in  Russia.— 
Tyranny  supported  by  Falsehood.— Corpse  in  the  Church  of  Revel.— The  Emperor  Alex- 
ander deceived. — Russian  Sensitiveness  to  the  Opinions  of  Foreigners. — A  Spy.  .  28 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Russian  Marine.— Remark  of  Lord  Durham's. — Great  efforts  for  small  Results — The 
amusements  of  Despotism. — Kronstadt.— Russian  Custom-House. — Gloomy  aspect  of  Na- 
ture—Recollections  of  Rome.— English  poetical  Name  for  Ships  of  War. — Object  of  Peter 
the  Great. — The  Finns.— Batteries  of  Kronstadt.— Abject  Character  of  the  Lower  Classes 
9f  Russian  Employ 6s.— Inquisitions  of  the  Police,  and  the  Custom-House.— Sudden  Chansre 
in  the  manners  of  Fellow-Travellers.— Fickleness  of  Northern  People.  .  .  53 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Approach  to  Petersburg  by  the  Neva.— Incongruity  between  the  Climate  and  Aspect  of  the 
Country  and  the  Style  of  Architecture. — Absurd  Imitation  of  the  Monuments  of  Greece.— 
The  Custom-House  and  Police.— Inquisitorial  Examination.— Difficulties  of  Landing.— 
Appearance  of  the  Streets.— Statue  of  Peter  the  Great.— The  Winter  Palace— Rebuilt  in 
one  Year— The  Means  employed.— Russian  Despotism.— Citation  from  Herberstein. — Ka- 
ramain.— The  Character  of  the  People  accords  with  that  of  the  Government.  .  42 


XIV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Costume  of  the  Lower  Orders. — Petersburg  in  the  Morning.— Resemblance  of  the  City  to  a 
Barrack.— Contrast  between  Russia  and  Spain. — Difference  between  Tyranny  and  Despo- 
tism.—The  Tchinn. — Peculiar  Character  of  the  Russian  Government. — The  Arts  in  Russia. 
—A  Russian  Hotel.— The  Evils  to  be  encountered  there.— The  Michael  Palaces.— Death  of 
Paul  I. — The  Spy  baffled.— The  Neva,  its  Quays  and  Bridges.— Cabin  of  Peter  I.— The 
Citadel,  its  Tombs  and  Dungeons.— Church  of  St.  Alexander  Newski.— Russian  Veterans. 
—Austerity  of  the  Czar.— Russian  Faith  in  the  Future,  and  its  Realization. — Munich  and 
Petersburg  compared. — Interior  of  the  Fortress. — The  Imperial  Tombs. — Subterranean 
Prison.— Russian  Prisoners. — Moral  Degradation  of  the  higher  Classes. — Catholic  Church. 
—Precarious  Toleration.— Tomb  of  the  last  King  of  Poland  and  of  Moreau.  .  PAGE  5r 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Visit  to  the  Islands.— Character  of  the  Scenery.— Artificial  Beauties.- -Comparison  between 
Russian  and  English  Taste.— Aim  and  Characteristics  of  Russian  Civilisation.— Happiness 
impossible  in  Russia.— Fashionable  Life  in  St.  Petersburg.— Equality  under  Despotism. — 
Characteristic  traits  of  Russian  Society.— Absolute  Power.— Pavilion  of  the  Empress. — 
Vermin  in  the  Houses  and  Palaces  of  St.  Petersburg.— Costume  of  the  lower  Orders. — 
Beauty  of  the  Men  when  of  pure  Slavonian  Race. — The  Women.— Condition  of  the  Russian 
Peasantry.— The  Sale  of  Serfs.— Commerce  can  alone  alter  the  present  State  of  Things. — 
Care  taken  to  conceal  the  Truth  from  Foreigners.— Religious  Usurpation  of  Peter  the  Great. 
—His  Character  and  monstrous  Cruelties.— Culpability  of  the  Aristocracy.— The  Author 
suspected.— State  of  Medical  Art  in  Russia. — Universal  Mystery.— Permission  to  be  present 
at  the  Marriage  of  the  Grand  Duchess.  .  .  .  .  .  63 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Coincidence  of  Dates. — Marriage  of  the  Grandson  of  M.  de  Beauharnais.— Chapel  of  the  Court 
—The  Emperor  Nicholas — his  Person.— The  Empress.— Consequences  of  Despotism.— 
The  Author's  Debut  at.  Court. —An  Accident.— Magnificent  Decorations  and  Costume.— 
Entr6e  of  the  Imperial  Family.— The  Emperor  Master  of  the  Ceremonies. — Forms  of  the 
Greek  Church.— M.  de  PahJen. — Emotion  of  the  Empress.— Description  of  the  Duke  of 
Leuchtenberg.— His  Impatience.— Music  of  the  Imperial  Chapel.— The  Archbishop.— the 
Empress  kisses  his  Hand. — No  Crowd  in  Russia. — Immensity  of  the  Public  Squares. — 
The  Column  of  Alexander.— False  Taste  of  the  Russians  in  the  Arts.— Triumphal  Arch.— 
Storm  at  the  Moment  of  the  Marriaee. — The  Emperor  to  be  pitied. — The  Empress  a  Vic- 
tim.—The  Author's  Presentation.— The  Emperor's  Voice.—  The  Affability  of  the  Empress 
—A  feie  at  the  Palace. — Courtiers.— Court  Dances.— The  Polonaise.— The  Grand  Gallery. 
— The  Supper.— Khan  of  the  Kirguises.— The  Queen  of  Georgia.— Russian  Court  Dress. — 
The  Genevese  at  the  Emperor's  Table.— Politeness  of  the  Monarch.— A  night  Scene  in 
the  North.— An  unexpected  Interview  with  the  Empress.— Philosophy  of  Despotism.  79 

CHAPTER  X. 

Note. — Excitement  of  a  Petersburg  life.— The  Emperor  truly  a  Russian. — Affability  of  the 
Empress.— Comparison  between  Paris  and  Petersburg.— Definition  of  politeness. — Fete 
at  the  Michael  Palace.— Conversation  with  the  Grand  Duchess  Helena.— Beautiful  Illu- 
mination —A  Grove  in  a  Ball-Room,— Jet  d'Eau. — Future  prospects  of  Democracy.— In- 
teresting Conversation  with  the  Emperor. — Russia  explained.— Improvements  in  the 
'V  Kremlin.— An  English  Nobleman  and  his  Family.— English  politeness. — Anecdote  in 
Note.— The  Grand  Chamberlain. — Severe  Reprimand  of  the  Emperor's.  .  .  110 

CHAPTER  XI. 

re  Ladies  of  the  Court. — The  Finns. — The  Opera.— The  Emperor  there.— Imposing  Person 
of  the  Prince.— His  Accession  to  the  Throne. — Courage  of  the  Empress.— The  Emperor's 
Recital  of  this  Scene  to  the  Author.— Another  Description  of  the  Emperor.— Continuation 
of  his  Conversation.— His  political  Opinions.— Sincerity  of  his  Laneuase.—  F£te  at  the 
Duchess  of  Oldenburg's.— Bal  Champetre.— Flowers  in  Russia.— The  Friend  of  the 
Empress. — Several  Conversations  with  the  Emperor. — His  noble  Sentiments.— Confidence 
with  which  he  inspires  those  who  approach  him.— Aristocracy  the  only  Rampart  of 
Liberty.— Parallel  between  Autocracies  and  Democracies.  .  ...  121 


J 


CONTENTS.  XV 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Population  of  Petersburg.— Solitude  of  the  Streets.— The  Architecture.— Place  du  Car- 
rousal  in  Paris.— Square  of  the  Grand  Duke  at  Florence.— The-  Newski  Prospect.— Pave- 
ments.— Effects  of  the  Thaw.— Interior  of  the  Houses. —The  Beds.— Visit  to  Prince . — 

Bowers  in  the  Drawing-Rooms. — Beauty  of  the  Sclavonian  Men. — Russian  Coachmen  and 
Postilions.— The  Feldjiiger. — The  Poetical  Aspect  of  the  Land.— Contrast  between  Men 
and  Things.— Architecture  of  the  Churches. — A  General  View  of  Petersburg. — Picturesque 
and  beautiful  notwithstanding  its  Architecture.— Nature  beautiful  even  near  the  Pole. — 
Antipathy  between  the  Teutonic  and  Russian  Races— its  Effects  in  Poland.— Contrast  be- 
tween the  Russians  and  Spaniards.— Heat  of  the  Summer.— Fuel  in  Petersburg. — Address 
of  the  Russian  People. — The  Designs  of  Providence.— Future  Scarcity  of  Fuel  in  Russia. — 
Want  of  inventive  mechanical  Genius  among  the  People. — The  Romans  of  the  North. — 
Relation  between  Peoples  and  their  Governments. — The  Plasterers.— Ugliness  and  Dirtiness 
of  the  Women  of  the  Lower  Classes— their  Disproportion  in  Point  of  Number,  and  its 
Result.— Asiatic  Manners.— Russian  Politeness.  .....  PAGE  188 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Fete  of  Peterhoff.—  The  People  in  the  Palace  of  their  Master.— Immense  Power  of  the  Em- 
peror.—The  Empress  Catherine's  Motive  for  instituting  Schools.— Views  of  the  present 
Emperor. — Russian  Hospitality.— Foreigners'  Descriptions  of  Russia. — No  Middle  Class 
in  Russia.— The  Children  of  the  Priests.— Capital  Punishments.— Abject  Misery  of  the 
People.— Rules  for  Foreigners  who  would  seek  Popularity  in  Russia.— Probity  of  the 
Peasants.— Pickpockets  in  the  Palace. — The  Journal  des  Debats.— The  Site  of  Peterhoff. — 
The  Park  Illuminations.— A  Citizen  Bivouac. — The  English  Palace.— Silence  of  the 
Crowd.— The  Ball.—  Good  Order  of  the  Peasants.— Accidents  in  the  Gulf.— Evil  Omens. — 
The  Empress's  Mode  of  Life.— Description  of  the  Illuminations. — Review  of  the  Corps  of 
Cadets.— A  Cadet  in  Favour.— The  Circassian  Guard 151 

CHAPTER  XIY. 

Cottage  of  Peterhoff.— A  Surprise.— The  Empress.— Her  Dress,  Manners,  and  Conversation. 
— The  Hereditary  Grand-Duke.— An  embarrassing  Question.— Interior  of  the  Cottage. — 
The  Grand-Duke  acts  as  Cicerone.— The  Prince  and  the  Young  Lady. — Cabinet  of  the 
Emperor.— Castle  of  Oranienbaum.— Fortress  of  Peter  HI. — Summer  Houses  of  the 
Empress  Catherine.— The  Camp  of  Krasnacselo.  .....  173 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Responsibility  of  the  Emperor.— Effects  of  the  Storm  at  Peterhoff.— Death  of  two  English- 
men.— The  Mystery  in  which  all  Occurrences  are  enveloped. — A  Steam-boat  saved  by 
an  Englishman. — The  Russian  Police. — Disappearance  of  a  Femme-de-Chambre. — Polite- 
ness and  Brutality  united.— Cruelty  of  a  Feldjager.— Quarrel  among  Work-people,  and 
revolting  Cruelty  of  the  Police. — The  Emperor  a  Reformer. — The  Column  of  Alexander. 
—Reform  in  the  Language  of  the  Court.— The  Church  of  Saint  Isaac.— Its  Immensity.— 
Spirit  of  the  Greek  Religion.— Its  Degradation.— Conversation  with  a  Frenchman.— A  Trav- 
elling Prison.— Insurrection  caused  by  a  Speech  of  the  Emperor's.— Bloody  Scenes  on  the 
Volga.— History  of  the  Poet  Pouschkin.— His  Duel  and  Death.— Fate  of  his  ambitious 
Successor.  ...........  181 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Petersburg  in  the  Absence  of  the  Emperor.— Character  of  the  Courtiers. — The  Tchinn.— Its 
Nature  and  Origin.— Destruction  of  the  Aristocracy.— Character  of  Peter  the  Great. — The 
Tchinn  divided  into  Fourteen  Classes.— An  immense  Power  in  the  Hands  of  the  Emperor. 
—Opposite  Opinions  on  the  Future  Influence  of  Russia.— Russian  Hospitality.— Polite 
Formalities.— Resemblance  to  the  Chinese.— Difference  between  the  Russians  and  the 
French.— Russian  Honesty.— Opinion  of  Napoleon.— The  only  sincere  Man  in  the  Empire. 
—Spoiled  Savages.— Absurd  Architecture.— Beauty  of  the  Quays. — The  great  Square. 
—The  Churches.— Palace  of  the  Taurida.— Antique  Venus.— The  Hermitage.— Picture 
Gallery.— Private  social  Code  of  the  Empress  Catherine.  .  .  .  .200 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

The  Minister  of  War.— An  Evasion.— The  Fortress  of  Schlusselburg.— Formalities.— Trouble- 
some Politeness.— Hallucinations.— Kotzebue  in  Siberia.— The  Feldjager.— Manufactories 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

of  Petersburg.— Houses  of  Russian  Peasants.— A  Russian  Inn.— Dirtiness  of  the  People. 
— The  Country  Women.— Bad  Roads.— The  Engineer  and  his  Wife. — The  Sluices  of 
Schlusselburg.— Union  of  the  Caspian  and  Baltic. — The  Source  of  the  Neva.— Inundations 
of  Petersburg.— The  Interior  of  the  Fortress  of  Schlusselburg.— The  Tomb  of  Ivan.— 
Anger  of  the  Commandant.— State  Prisoners.— A  Dinner  with  the  Middle  Classes  in  Rus- 
sia.—Natural  Causticity  of  the  People.— Polite  Conversation.— French  Modern  Literature 
Prohibited.— A  National  Dish. — Difference  in  the  Manners  of  the  Higher  and  Middle 
Classes.— Return  to  Petersburg  .......  PAGE  220 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Petersburg  compared  to  Venice.— The  Gospel  dangerous.— Religion  in  Russia. — Janus. — New 
Poland.— The  Future.— A  Delay.— History  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  Troubetzkoi.— Devo- 
tion of  the  Princess.— Fourteen  Years  in  the  Uralian  Mines.— Mercy  of  the  Emperor. — 
The  Children  of  a  Convict.— Colonization  in  Siberia. — A  Mother's  Anguish.— Second 
Petition  to  the  Emperor,  and  his  Answer.— A  final  Opinion  on  the  Character  of  the  Em- 
peror.—The  Family  of  the  Exiles.— Change  in  the  Author's  Plans.— Means  taken  for 
deceiving  the  Police.  .........  238 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Road  from  Petersburg  to  Moscow.— Speed  of  Travelling.— A  Livonian.— The  best  Means  of 
Governing.— English  Carriages  on  Russian  Roads. — The  Country  People. — Aspect  of  the 
Country. — The  Post-house. — Mountains  of  Valdai.— Costume  of  the  Peasantry.— Russian 
Ladies  en  Deshabille.— Small  Russian  Towns.— Torjeck  Russian  Leather.— Chicken  C6- 
teletles.— A  double  Road.  .........  248 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Boy  Coachmen. — The  Road.— Gracefulness  of  the  People.— Dress  of  the  Women.— The  See- 
saw.—Beauty  of  the  Female  Peasants.— Russian  Cottages.— Customs  of  the  Serfs.— Devout 
Thieves. — Want  of  Principle  in  the  higher  Classes.— Female  Politicians.— Domestic  Hap- 
piness of  the  Serfs.— Casuistical  Reflections.— Connection  of  the  Church  and  State.— Abo- 
lition of  the  Patriarchate  of  Moscow.— Fundamental  Difference  between  Sects  and  a 
Mother  Church. — Adventures  of  a  Foal. — The  Author  injured  by  the  Moral  Atmosphere. 
—National  Moral  Responsibility.— Dream  of  a  waking  Man.— First  View  of  the  Volga. — 
Spain  and  Russia  contrasted.— Dews  of  the  North..  .....  261 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

First  View  of  Moscow.— Symbolic  Architecture  of  Greek  Churches.— Castle  of  Petrovski.— 
Entrance  of  Moscow.— Aspect  of  the  Kremlin.— Church  of  Saint  Basil.— The  French  at 
Moscow.— The  Kremlin  a  City.— Origin  of  the  word  Czar.— An  English  Hotel  in  Russia.— 
The  City  by  Moonlight.— Population  of  Moscow.— The  Object  of  Conscience.— Gardens 
under  the  Walls  of  the  Kremlin.— Description  of  the  Fortress.— Ivan  III.— Napoleon  and 
the  Kremlin.— Modern  Grandiloquence.    .  .  .  .  .  .  .280 

• 

CHAPTER  XXII 

The  Kremlin  by  Daylight.— Character  of  its  Architecture.— Symbolic  Imagery.— Relation 
between  the  Character  of  Buildings  and  Builders.— Ivan  IV.— Patience  Criminal. — Intro- 
duction to  the  History  of  Ivan  IV.  .......  290 

CHAPTER  XXIIL 

Peculiar  Character  of  Architecture  in  Moscow.— Observation  of  Madame  de  Stael's. — Kitai- 
gorod.— Madonna  of  Vivielski.— Church  ofVassili  Blagennoi.— The  Holy  Gate.— Advan- 
tage of  faith  over  Doubt. — Church  of  the  Assumption.— Foreign  Artists. — Tower  of  John 
the  Great. — Convent  of  the  Ascension.— Interior  of  the  Treasury.— Crowns  and  Thrones.— 
Treasures  of  the  Czars.— A  contrast.— Moorish  Palace. — New  Works  at  the  Kremlin. — 
Desecration  of  the  Fortress. — Error  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas. — Restoration  of  the  Capital 
to  Moscow.— View  of  Moscow  from  the  Kremlin.— Recollections  of  the  French  Army.— 
Observation  of  Napoleon's. — Danger  of  Heroism  in  Russia. — Rostopchin.— The  fall  01 
Napoleon.— Review  of  his  Character.  .......  295 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Oriental  Aspect  of  Moscow.— Horace  Vernet.— Want  of  superior  Works  of  Art.— Russian 
Fickleness.— Silk  Manufactories.— Appearances  of  Liberty.— Railroads.— English  Club.^- 
Russian  Piety. — The  Greco-Russian  Church. — Its  Sects,  and  their  Origin. — Polygamy. — 
Merchants  of  Moscow.— A  Russian  Fair.— Rural  Scenery  in  Moscow.— Drunkenness 
among  the  Russians.— Hidden  Poetry.— Song  of  the  Don  Cossacks.— The  Music  of  North- 
ern Nations. — The  Cossacks. — Their  Character.— Influence  under  which  they  fight. — Po- 
litical Subterfuges.— A  Polish  Fable.  ......  PAGE  818 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

The  Tartar  Mosque.— The  Descendants  of  the  Mongols  in  Moscow.— Tower  of  Soukareff— 
Colossal  Reservoir.— Byzantine  Architecture,— Public  Institutions.— The  Emperor  every- 
where.— Dissimilarity  in  the  Sclavonian  and  German  Characters. — The  Noblemen's 
Club.— Polite  Education  of  the  Russians.— Habits  of  the  Higher  Classes. — A  Russian 
Coffee-house.— Religious  Belief  of  the  Old  Serfs.— Society  in  Moscow.— A  Country  House 
in  a  City. — Real  Politeness.— Review  of  Russian  Character. — Want  of  Generosity.— Con- 
tempt for  the  Law  of  Kindness. — Seductive  Manners  of  the  Russians. —  Their  Fickleness. 
—Resemblance  of  the  Poles  and  Russians. — Libertinism  in  Moscow. —Moral  Consequen- 
ces of  Despotism.— Observations  on  Modern  Literature.— Drunkenness  a  Vice  of  the  High- 
est Classes.— Russian  Curiosity.— Portrait  of  Prince  and  his  Companions.— Murder 

in  a  Nunnery.— Conversational  a  Table  d'hote.— The  Lovelace  of  the  Kremlin. — A  bur- 
lesque Petition.— Modern  Prudery. — Parting  Scene  with  Prince . — An  elegant  Coach- 
man.—Morals  of  the  Citizens'  Wives.— Libertinism  the  Fruit  of  Despotism.— Moral  Li- 
cence in  lieu  of  Political  Freedom.— Condition  of  the  Serfs  and  other  Classes.— Nature  of 
Russian  Ambition. — Results  of  the  System  of  Peter  the  Great.— The  true  Power  of  Russia. — 
Danger  of  Truth.— Songs  of  the  Russian  Gipsies. — The  Theatre  in  Russia.— French  Lan- 
guage in  Russia  understood  superficially. — A  Russian  in  his  Library.— The  Tarandasse . — 
Russian  Ideas  of  Distance.— A  noble  Trait  in  Russian  Character.  .  .  .825 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

Roads  in  the  Interior— Farms  and  Country  Mansions— Monotony  the  great  Characteristic  of 
the  Land— Pastoral  Life  of  the  Peasants— Beauty  of  the  Women  and  old  Men— Policy 
attributed  to  the  Poles. — A  Night  at  the  Convent  of  Troitza— Pestalozzi  on  Personal  Clean- 
liness— Interior  of  the  Convent — Pilgrims — Tombs  and  Treasures — Inconveniences  of  a 
Journey  in  Russia— Bad  Quality  of  the  Water— Want  of  Probity  a  national  Characteris- 
tic. .  .  .  . .  .354 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Commercial  Importance  of  Yarowslaf. — Description  of  Yarowslaf. — Monotonous  Aspect  of 
the  Country. — The  Boatmen  of  the  Volga. — Coup  d'oeil  on  the  Russian  Character. — 
Primitive  Droshkis. — Antique  Costume. — Russian  Baths.— Difference  between  Russian 
and  German  Children. — Visit  to  the  Governor. — An  agreeable  Surprise. — Souvenirs  of 
Versailles.— Influence  of  French  Literature.— Visit  to  the  Convent  of  the  Transfiguration. 
— Russian  Piety. — Byzantine  style  in  the  Arts.— Great  Points  of  Religious  Discussion  in 
Russia.— The  Zacuska.— The  Sterled. — Russian  Dinners. — Family  Solr6e. — Moral  Supe- 
riority of  the  Female  Sex  in  Russia.— Justification  of  Providence.— A  Lottery. — French 
Ton  changed  by  Politics. — Want  of  a  beneficent  Aristocracy. — The  Real  Governors  of 
Russia. — Bureaucracy. — Children  of  the  Popes. — Propagandist!!  of  Napoleon  still  operates 
in  Russia. — The  task  of  the  Emperor.  .......  865 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

The  Banks  of  the  Volga. — Russian  Coachmen  in  Mountain  Roads. — Kostroma. — Ferry  on  the 
Volga. — Accident  in  a  Forest. — Beauty  of  the  Women. — Civilisation  injurious. — Rousseau 
justified. — Etymolosry  of  the  word  Sarmatian. — Elegance,  Industry,  and  Humility  of  the 
Peasants. — Their  Music. — National  Music  dangerous  to  Despotism. — The  Road  to  Siberia. 
— A  Picture  of  Russia. — Exiles  on  the  Road.  ......  882 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Site  of  Nijni-Novgorod.— Predilection  of  the  Emperorfor  that  City.— The  Kremlin  of  Nijni.— 
Concourse  at  the  Fair. — The  Governor. — Bridge  of  the  Oka. — Difficulty  in  obtaining  a 


XV111  CONTENTS. 

Lodging.— The  Plague  of  Persicas.— Pride  of  the  Feldjager.— The  Fair-Ground.— Subter- 
ranean City.— Singular  Appearance  of  the  River.— The  City  of  Tea— of  Rags— of  Wheel- 
wrights' Work — of  Iron.— Origin  of  the  Fair.— Persian  Village. — Salt  fish  from  the  Caspi- 
an.—Leather. — Furs. — Lazzaronis  of  the  North. — Badly  chosen  Site.— Commercial  Cre- 
dit of  the  Serfs— their  Mode  of  Calculating.— Bad  Faith  of  the  Nobles.— Prices  of  Merchan- 
dise.— Turquoises  of  the  Bucharians.— Kirguis  Horses.— The  Fair  after  Sunset.— The  effect 
of  Music  in  Russia.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  PAGE  894 

CHAPTEE  XXX. 

Financial  Phenomenon. — Financial  Reform  of  the  Emperor's. — Means  taken  by  the  Governor 
ofNijnitp  induce  the  Merchants  to  Obey.— Their  nominal  Compliance. — Inquiry  into 
their  Motives. — Improvements  of  Nijni. — The  Serf  and  the  Lord.— The  Governor  of  Nijni's 
Explanations  of  Despotic  Administration.— Forbearance  of  the  Authorities. — A  Ride  with 
the  Governor. — Value  of  the  Commodities  at  the  Fair  of  Nijni. — Visits  with  the  Governor. 
— The  Bureaucracy.— The  Author's  Feldja»er,— Flag  of  Minine. — Bad  Faith  of  the  Gov- 
ernment.— Modern  Vandalism. — Peter  the  Great.— The  Kremlin  of  Nijni. — The  Governor's 
Camp. — Song  of  the  Soldiers. — Church  of  the  StrogonofFs.— Eussian  Vaudeville.  .  412 

CHAPTEE  XXXI. 

Assassination  of  a  German  landholder. — Russian  Aversion  to  Innovations. — Consequences  of 
the  established  State  of  Things.— Servility  of  the  Peasants.— Exile  of  M.  Guibal.— A  Mus- 
covite Witch.— A  sick  Man  among  his  friends  in  Russia. — Russian  Charity.— A  Passion 
for  Tombs. — Nocturnal  Lessons  in  Etiquette.— Gipsies  at  the  Fair.— The  Virtues  of  Out- 
casts.— Victor  Hugo.— Project  of  visiting  Kazan  abandoned.— Medical  Advice.— Ideas  of 
the  Russians  respecting  Free  Governments.— Vladimir. — The  Forests  of  Russia. — The  Use 
of  a  Feldjager.— False  Delicacy  imposed  upon  Foreigners.— Centralization.— Rencontre 
with  an  Elephant. — An  Accident.— Return  to  Moscow. — A  Farewell  to  the  Kremlin.— Effect 
produced  by  the  Vicinity  of  the  Emperor.— Military  Fete  at  Borodino.— The  Author's 
Motives  for  not  attending.— Prince  Wittgenstein.  .....  426 

CHAPTEE  XXXII. 

Eeturn  from  Moscow  to  Petersburg.— History  of  M.  Fernet,  a  French  Prisoner  in  Russia. — 
His  Arrest.— Conduct  of  his  Fellow  Traveller.— The  French  Consul  at  Moscow.— Effects 
of  Imagination.— Advice  of  a  Russian.— Great  Novgorod.— Souvenirs  of  Ivan  IV.— Arrival 
at  Petersburg.— M.  de  Barnate. — Sequel  of  the  History  of  M.  Fernet.— Interior  of  a  Mos- 
cow Prison. — A  Visit  to  Colpina.— Origin  of  the  Laval  Family  of  Russia  —The  Academy 
of  Painting. — The  Arts  in  Russia.— M.  Brutow.— Influence  of  the  North  upon  the  Arts. — 
Mademoiselle  Taglioni  at  Petersburg.— Abolition  of  the  Uniates.— Superiority  of  a  repre- 
sentative form  of  Government. — Departure  from  Russia. — The  Feelings  of  the  Author. — 
A  sincere  Letter.— Eeasons  for  not  returning  through  Poland.  .  .  .446 

CHAPTEE  XXXIII. 

Return  to  Ems. — Autumn  in  the  Vicinity  of  the  Rhine. — Comparison  between  Russian  and 
German  Scenery.  —The  Youth  of  the  Soul. — Definition  of  Misanthropy.— Mistake  of  the 
Traveller  regarding  Russia. — Resum6  of  the  Journey.— A  Last  Portrait  of  Russia  and  the 
Russians.— Secret  of  their  Policy.— A  Glance  at  the  Christian  Churches.— The  Task  of  the 
Author.— Danger  of  speaking  of  the  Greek  religion  in  Russia.— Parallel  between  Spain  and 
Russia.  .  465 


RUSSIA. 


CHAPTER. I. 

Arrival  of  the  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  of  Russia  at  Ems.— Character  of  Russian  Courtiers.— 
The  Person  of  the  Grand  Duke  —His  Father  and  Uncle  at  the  same  Age.— His  Equipages 
and  Suite.— Superiority  of  the  English  in  all  external  Appurtenances.— The  Rhine.— The 
River  more  beautiful  than  its  Banks.— Fire-flies  on  the  Rhine. 

I  DATE  from  yesterday  the  commencement  of  my  Russian  Tra- 
vels.* The  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  has  arrived  at  Ems,  prece- 
ded by  ten  or  twelve  carriages,  and  attended  by  a  numerous 
court. 

What  has  chiefly  struck  me  in  my  first  view  of  Russian  cour- 
tiers is  the  extraordinary  submissiveness  with  which,  as  grandees, 
they  perform  their  devoirs.  They  seem,  in  fact,  to  be  only  a 
^higher  order  of  slaves  ;  but  the  moment  the  prince  has  retired,  a 
free,  unrestrained,  and  decided  manner  is  reassumed,  which  con- 
trasts unpleasantly  with  that  complete  abnegation  of  self,  afiected 
only  the  moment  before.  In  a  word,  there  appears  to  reign 
throughout  the  suite  of  the  heir  of  the  imperial  throne,  a  habit  of 
servile  docility  from  which  the  nobles  are  not  more  exempt  than 
the  valets.  It  is  not  merely  the  etiquette  that  regulates  other 
courts,  where  official  respect,  the  importance  of  the  office  rather 
than  that  of  the  person,  the  compulsory  part,  in  short,  that 
has  to  be  played,  produces  ennui,  and  sometimes  ridicule  :  it  is 
something  more ;  it  is  a  spontaneous  and  involuntary  humility, 
which  yet  does  not  altogether  exclude  arrogance  :  it  seems  to  me 
as  though  I  could  hear  them  say,  "  since  it  cannot  be  otherwise, 
we  are  glad  to  have  it  so."  This  mixture  of  pride  and  humilia- 
tion displeases  me,  and  by  no  means  prepossesses  me  in  favour  of 
the  country  I  am  about  to  survey. 

*  5th  June,  1839. 


PERSON  OF  THE  GRAND  DUKE. 


I  found  myself  amid  the  crowd  of  curious  spectators  close  to 
the  Grand  Duke,  just  as  he  descended  from  his  carriage ;  and  as 
he  stood  for  some  time  before  entering  the  gate  of  the  niaison  des 

bains,  talking  with  a  Russian  Lady,  the  Countess ,  I  was 

able  to  observe  him  at  my  leisure.  His  age,  as  his  appearance 
indicates,  is  twenty  :  his  height  is  commanding,  but  he  appears 
to  me,  for  so  young  a  man,  rather  fat.  His  features  would  be 
handsome  were  it  not  that  their  fulness  destroys  their  expression. 
His  round  face  rather  resembles  that  of  a  German  than  a  Russ  ; 
it  -suggests  an  idea  of  what  the  Emperor  Alexander's  must  have 
been -at  the  sani^  ago,- without  however  recalling,  in  any  degree, 
tho  pbysiogricimy  Jftthe'Calmuc.  A  face  of  this  cast  will  pass 
through  many,  changes'  before  assuming  its  definitive  character. 
.The' 'la.bttaal  hh'^qiir'Ahioh  it,  at  present,  denotes,  is  gentleness 
arid  benevolence  ;  but  between  the  youthful  smile  of  the  eyes 
and  the  constant  contraction  of  the  mouth,  there  is,  nevertheless, 
a  discordance  which  does  not  bespeak  frankness,  and  which, 
perhaps,  indicates  some  inward  suffering.  The  sorrows  of  youth 
— of  that  age  in  which  happiness  is,  as  it  were,  the  right  of  man 
— are  secrets  the  better  guarded,  because  they  are  mysterious,  in- 
explicable even  to  those  who  experience  them.  The  expression 
of  this  young  prince  is  amiable  ;  his  carriage  is  graceful,  im- 
posing, and  altogether  princely  ;  and  his  manner  modest,  without 
being  timid,  which  must  alone  gain  him  much  good  will.  The 
embarrassment  of  great  people  is  so  embarrassing  to  others,  that 
their  ease  always  wears  the  character  of  affability,  to  which  in 
fact  it  amounts.  When  they  believe  themselves  to  be  something 
more  than  common  mortals,  they  become  constrained,  both  by  the 
direct  influence  of  such  an  opinion,  and  by  the  hopeless  effort  of 
inducing  others  to  share  it.  This  absurd  inquietude  does  not 
disturb  the  Grand  Duke.  His  presence  conveys  the  idea  of  a 
perfectly  well-bred  man  ;  and  if  he  ever  reign,  it  will  be  by  the 
charm  inherent  in  graceful  manners  that  he  will  cause  himself  to 
be  obeyed  :  it  will  not  be  by  terror,  unless,  at  least,  the  necessities 
attached  to  the  office  of  a  Russian  Emperor  should,  in  changing 
his  position,  change  his  disposition  also. 

Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  again  seen  the  Hereditary 
Grand  Duke,  and  have  examined  him  more  nearly  and  leisurely. 
He  had  cast  off  his  uniform,  which  appeared  to  fit  him  too  closely, 
and  gave  to  his  person  a  bloated  appearance.  In  iny  opinion  he 
looks  best  in  undress.  His  general  bearing  is  certainly  pleasing; 
his  carriage  is  lofty,  yet  without  military  stiffness.  The  kind  of 
grace  by  which  he  is  distinguished,  reminds  one  of  that  peculiar 


PERSON  OF  THE  GRAND  DUKE.  3 

charm  of  manner  which  seems  to  belong  to  the  Slavonic  race.  It 
is  not  the  expression  of  the  quick  passions  of  southern  clirnes, 
neither  is  it  the  imperturbable  coolness  of  the  people  of  the  north  : 
it  is  a  combination  of  simplicity,  of  southern  mobility,  and  of 
Scandinavian  melancholy.  The  Slavonians  are  fair-complexioned 
Arabs  *  ;  the  Grand  Duke  is  more  than  half  German,  but  in 
Mecklenberg  and  Ilolstein,  as  in  some  parts  of  Russia,  there  are 
Germans  of  Slavonian  extraction. 

The  countenance  of  this  prince,  notwithstanding  his  youth, 
presents  fewer  attractions  than  his  figure.  His  complexion  has 
already  lost  its  freshness  f ;  one  can  observe  that  he  is  under  the 
influence  of  some  cause  of  grief ;  his  eyelids  are  cast  down  with  a 
sadness  that  betrays  the  cares  of  a  riper  age.  His  well-formed 
mouth  is  not  without  an  expression  of  sweetness ;  his  Grecian 
profile  reminds  me  of  antique  medals,  or  of  the  portraits  of  the 
Empress  Catherine ;  but  notwithstanding  his  expression  of 
amiableness  (an  expression  which  almost  always  imparts  that 
also  of  be»uty),  his  youth,  and,  yet  more,  his  German  blood,  it  is 
impossible  to  avoid  observing  in  the  lines  of  his  face  a  power  of 
dissimulation  which  one  trembles  to  see  in  so  young  a  man. 
This  trait  is  doubtless  the  impress  of  destiny.  It  convinces  me 
that  the  Grand  Duke  will  be  called  to  the  throne.  The  tones  of 
his  voice  are  sweet,  which  is  not  commonly  the  case  in  his  family  ; 
they  say  it  is  a  gift  which  he  has  inherited  from  his  mother. 

He  shines  among  the  young  people  of  his  suite  without  our 
discovering  what  it  is  that  preserves  the  distance  which  may  be 
easily  observed  to  exist  between  them,  unless  it  be  the  perfect 
gracefulness  of  his  person.  Gracefulness  always  indicates  an 
amiable  mental  endowment ;  it  depicts  mind  upon  the  features, 
embodies  it  in  the  carriage  and  the  attitudes,  and  pleases  at  the 
very  time  that  it  commands.  Russian  travellers  had  spoken  to 
me  of  the  beauty  of  the  prince  as  quite  a  phenomenon.  Without 
this  exaggeration  I  should  have  been  more  struck  with  it ;  besides, 
I  could  not  but  recollect  the  romantic  mien,  the  arch-angelic 
form,  of  his  father  and  his  uncle  the  Grand  Duke  Michael,  who, 
when  in  1815,  they  visited  Paris,  were  called  "the  northern 
lights"  and  I  felt  inclined  to  be  severe,  because  I  had  been 
deceived ;  yet,  notwithstanding  this,  the  Grand  Duke  of  Russia 
appears  to  me  as  one  of  the  finest  models  of  a  prince  that  I  have 
ever  met  with. 

*  "  Des  Arabes  blonds." 

f  The  Grand  Duke  had  been  ill  some  time  before  his  arrival  at  Ems. 


THE    RHINE. 


With  the  elegance  of  his  equipages,  the  disorder  of  the  baggage, 
and  the  carelessness  of  the  servants,  I  have  been  much  struck. 
In  contrasting  this  imperial  cortege  with  the  magnificent  simpli- 
city of  English  equipages,  and  the  careful  superintendence  that 
English  servants  bestow  upon  every  thing,  one  is  reminded  that 
even  to  have  one's  carriages  and  harness  made  in  London,  would 
riot  be  all  that  is  requisite  towards  attaining  that  perfection  in 
material,  or  external  arrangements,  the  possession  of  which  con- 
stitutes the  superiority  of  the  English  in  so  matter-of-fact  an  age 
as  our  own. 

Yesterday  I  went  to  see  the  sun  setting  on  the  Rhine.  It  was 
a  magnificent  spectacle.  It  is  not,  however,  the  banks  of  the 
river,  with  their  monotonous  ruins  and  parched  vineyards,  which 
occupy  too  much  of  the  landscape  to  be  agreeable  to  the  eye,  that 
I  chiefly  admire  in  this  beautiful,  yet  overlauded  country.  I  have 
seeri  elsewhere  banks  more  commanding,  more  varied,  more 
lovely ;  finer  forests,  a  more  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  more  pic- 
turesque and  striking  points  of  view :  it  is  the  river  itself,  espe- 
cially as  viewed  from  the  shore,  that  appears  to  me  the  most 
wonderful  object  in  the  scene.  This  immense  body  of  water, 
gliding  with  an  ever  equal  motion  through  the  country  which  it 
beautifies  and  enlivens,  reveals  to  me  a  power  in  creation  that 
overwhelms  my  senses.  In  watching  its  movements,  I  liken 
myself  to  a  physician  examining  the  pulse  of  a  man  in  order  to 
ascertain  his  strength.  Rivers  are  the  arteries  of  our  globe,  and 
before  their  manifestation  of  universal  life,  I  stand  fixed  in  aws 
and  admiration  :  I  feel  myself  to  be  in  the  presence  of  my  sove- 
reign :  I  see  eternity,  I  believe,  and  I  almost  grasp  the  infinite. 
This  is  the  involuntary  perception  of  a  sublime  mystery  ;  in 
nature  what  I  cannot  comprehend  I  admire,  and  my  ignorance 
takes  refuge  in  adoration.  Thus  it  is  that  science  to  me  is  less 
necessary  than  to  discontented  minds. 

We  shall  literally  die  of  heat.  It  is  many  years  since  the  air 
of  the  valley  of  Ems,  always  oppressive,  has  risen  to  the  present 
temperature.  Last  night,  in  returning  from  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine,  I  saw  in  the  woods  a  swarm  of  fire-flies — my  beloved 
Italian  Luccioli.  I  had  never  before  observed  them,  except  in  hot 
climates. 

I  set  out  in  two  days  for  Berlin  and  St.  Petersburg. 


PECULIARITIES    IN    THE    RUSSIAN    CHARACTER. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Conversation  at  Lubeck  on  Peculiarities  in  (he  Russian  character.— Burnin*  of  the  Steamer 
Nicholas  I. 

THIS  morning  at  Lubeck,  the  landlord  of  the  hotel,  hearing  that 
I  was  going  to  embark  for  Russia,  entered  my  room  with  an  air 
of  compassion  which  made  me  laugh.  This  man  is  more  clever 
and  humorous  than  the  sound  of  his  voice,  and  his  manner  of 
pronouncing  the  French  language  would  at  first  lead  one  to 
suppose. 

On  hearing  that  I  was  travelling  only  for  my  pleasure,  he 
began  exhorting  me,  with  the  good-homoured  simplicity  of  a  Ger- 
man, to  give  up  my  project. 

"  You  are  acquainted  with  Russia?  "  I  said  to  him. 

"  No,  sir ;  but  I  am  with  Russians  ;  there  are  many  who  pass 
through  Lubeck,  and  I  judge  of  the  country  by  the  physiognomy 
of  its  people." 

"  What  do  you  find,  then,  in  the  expression  of  their  counte- 
nance that  should  prevent  my  visiting  them?  " 

"  Sir,  they  have  two  faces.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  valets,  who 
have  only  one ;  but  of  the  nobles.  When  they  arrive  in  Europe 
they  have  a  gay,  easy,  contented  air,  like  horses  set  free,  or  birds 
let  loose  from  their  cages  :  men,  women,  the  young  and  the  old, 
are  all  as  happy  as  schoolboys  on  a  holiday.  The  same  persons, 
when  they  return,  have  long  faces  and  gloomy  looks  ;  their  words 
are  few  and  abrupt ;  their  countenances  full  of  care.  I  conclude 
from  this,  that  a  country  which  they  quitted  with  so  much  joy, 
and  to  which  they  return  with  so  much  regret,  is  a  bad  country." 

u  Perhaps  you  are  right,"  I  replied ;  "  but  your  remarks,  at 
least,  prove  to  me  that  the  Russians  are  not  such  dissemblers  as 
they  have  been  represented." 

"  They  are  so  among  themselves;  but,  they  do  not  mistrust 
us  honest  Germans,"  said  the  landlord,  retiring,  and  smiling 
knowingly. 

Here  is  a  man  who  is  afraid  of  being  taken  for  a  goodnatured 
simpleton,  thought  I :  he  must  travel  himself  in  order  to  know 
how  greatly  the  description,  which  travellers  (often  superficial  and 
careless  in  their  observations)  give  of  different  nations,  tends  to 
influence  these  nations'  character.  Each  separate  individual  en- 
deavours to  establish  a  protest  against  the  opinion  generally  enter- 
tained with  respect  to  the  people  of  his  country. 


6  BURNING    OF    THE    STEAMER    NICHOLAS. 

Do  not  the  women  of  Paris  aspire  to  be  simple  and  unaffected? 
It  may  be  here  observed,  that  nothing  can  be  more  opposite  than 
the  Russian  and  the  German  character. 

My  carriage  is  already  in  the  packet-boat :  the  Russians  say 
it  is  one  of  the  finest  steamers  in  the  world:  they  call  it  Nicholas 
the  First.  This  same  vessel  was  burnt  last  year  crossing  from 
Petersburg  to  Travemunde :  it  was  refitted,  and  has  since  made 
two  voyages. 

Some  superstitious  minds  fear  that  misfortune  will  yet  attach 
itself  to  the  boat.  I,  who  am  no  sailor,  do  not  sympathize  with 
this  poetic  fear;  but  I  respect  all  kinds  of  inoffensive  superstition, 
as  resulting  from  the  noble  pleasures  of  believing  and  of  fearing, 
which  are  the  foundation  of  all  piety,  and  of  which,  even  the 
abuse  classes  man  above  all  other  beings  in  creation. 

After  a  detailed  account  of  the  circumstances  of  the  burning 
of  the  Nicholas  I.  had  been  made  to  the  emperor,  he  cashiered  the 
captain,  who  was  a  Russian,  and  who  was  quietly  playing  at  cards 
in  the  cabin  when  the  flames  burst  from  the  vessel.  His  friends, 
however,  state  in  his  excuse,  or  rather  in  his  praise,  that  he  was 
acquainted  with  the  danger,  and  had  given  private  orders  to  steer 
the  vessel  towards  a  sand-bank  on  the  Mecklenburg  coast,  his 
object  being  to  avoid  alarming  the  passengers  until  the  moment 
of  absolute  necessity  arrived.  The  flames  burst  out  just  as  the 
vessel  grounded  ;  most  of  the  passengers  were  saved,  owing  chiefly 
to  the  heroic  efforts  of  a  young  and  unknown  Frenchman.  The 
Russian  captain  has  been  replaced  by  a  Dutchman ;  but  he,  it  is 
said,  does  not  possess  authority  over  his  crew.  Foreign  countries 
lend  to  Russia  the  men  only  whom  they  do  not  care  to  keep  them- 
selves. I  shall  know  to-morrow  what  to  think  of  the  individual 
in  question.  No  one  can  judge  so  well  of  a  commander  as  a 
sailor  or  a  passenger.  The  love  of  life,  that  love  so  passionately 
rational,  is  a  guide  by  which  we  can  unerringly  appreciate  the 
men  upon  whom  our  existence  depends. 

Our  noble  vessel  draws  too  much  water  to  get  up  to  Peters- 
burg; we  therefore  change  ship  at  Kronstadt,  whence  the  car- 
riages will  follow  us,  two  days  later,  in  a  third  vessel.  This  is 
tiresome,  but  curiosity  triumphs  over  all :  it  is  perhaps  the  chief 
requisite  in  a  traveller. 


POLAR    NIGHTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

• 

Polar  Nights.— Montesquieu  and  his  System.— Scenery  of  the  North.— Flatness  of  the  Earth's 
Surface  near  the  Pole.— Shores    of  Finland.— Melancholy  of  Northern  People.— Prince 

K .—Definitions  of  Nobility. — The  English  Nobility.— Freedom  of  Speech.  — Canning. 

— Napoleon. — Confidential  Conversation. — Glance  at  Russian  History.— Institutions  and 
Spirit  of  Chivalry  unknown  in  Russia  —The  Nature  of  an  Autocracy.— Politics  and  Reli- 
gion are  identical  in  Russia.— Future  Influence  of  Russia.— Fate  of  Paris — Prince  and 

Princess  D .—The  Cold-water  Cure.— A  modern  Frenchman  of  the  Middle  Classes. — 

The  Mauvais  Ton. — Agreeable  Society  on  the  Steam-boat.— Russian  National  Dances.— 
Two  Americans.— Steam- boat  Accident. 

I  AM  writing  at  midnight,  ivitliout  any  lights,  on  board  the  steam- 
boat Nicholas  the  First,  in  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  It  is  now  the 
close  of  a  day  which  has  nearly  the  length  of  a  month  in  these 
latitudes,  beginning  about  the  8th  of  June,  and  ending  towards 
the  4th  of  July.  By  degrees  the  nights  will  reappear ;  they  are 
very  short  at  first,  but  insensibly  lengthen  as  they  aproach  the 
autumnal  equinox.  They  then  increase  with  the  same  rapidity 
as  do  the  days  in  spring,  and  soon  involve  in.  darkness  the  north 
of  Russia  and  Sweden,  and  all  within  the  vicinity  of  the  Arctic 
Circle.  To  the  countries  actually  within  this  circle,  the  year  is 
divided  into  a  day  and  a  night,  each  of  six  months'  duration. 
The  tempered  darkness  of  winter  continues  as  long  as  the  dubious 
and  melancholy  summer  light. 

I  cannot  yet  cease  from  admiring  the  phenomenon  of  a  polar 
night,  the  clear  beam  of  which  almost  equals  that  of  the  day. 
Nothing  more  interests  me  than  the  various  degrees  in  which 
light  is  distributed  to  the  various  portions  of  the  globe.  At  the 
end  of  the  year,  all  the  different  parts  of  the  earth  have  beheld 
the  same  sun  during  an  equal  number  of  hours  ;  but  what  a  dif- 
ference between  the  days !  what  a  diversity  also  of  temperature 
and  of  hues  !  The  sun,  whose  rays  strike  vertically  upon  the 
earth,  and  the  sun  whose  beams  fall  obliquely,  do  not  appear  the 
same  luminary,  at  least  if  we  judge  by  effects. 

As  for  myself,  whose  existence  bears  a  sympathetic  analogy 
to  that  of  plants,  I  acknowledge  a  kind  of  fatality  in  climates, 
and,  impelled  by  the  influence  the  heavens  have  over  my  mind, 
willingly  pay  respect  to  the  theory  of  Montesquieu.  To  such  a 
degree  are  my  temper  and  faculties  subject  to  the  action  of  the 
atmosphere,  that  I  cannot  doubt  of  its  effects  upon  politics.  But 
the  genius  of  Montesquieu  has  exaggerated  and  carried  too  far 
the  consequences  of  belief.  Obstinacy  and  opinion  is  the  rock 
on  which  genius  has  too  often  made  shipwreck.  Powerful  minds 
will  only  see  what  they  wish  to  see ;  the  world  is  within  them- 


SCENERY    OP    THE    NORTH. 

selves ;  they  understand  every  thing  but  that  which  is  told  to 
them. 

About  an  hour  ago  I  beheld  the  sun  sinking  in  the  ocean  be- 
tween the  N.  N.  W.  and  N.  He  has  left  behind  a  long  bright 
track  which  continues  to  light  me  at  this  midnight  hour,  and  en- 
ables me  to  write  upon  deck  while  my  fellow-passengers  are  sleep- 
ing. As  I  lay  down  my  pen  to  look  around,  I  perceive  already, 
towards  the  N.  N.  E.  the  first  streaks  of  morning  light.  Yester- 
day is  not  ended,  yet  to-morrow  is  begun.  The  sublimity  of  this 
polar  scene  I  feel  as  a  compensation  for  all  the  toils  of  the  jour- 
ney. In  these  regions  of  the  globe  the  day  is  one  continued 
morning,  which  never  performs  the  promises  of  its  birth.  This 
singular  twilight  precedes  neither  day  nor  night;  for  the  things 
which  bear  those  names  in  southern  countries  have  in  reality  no 
existence  here.  The  magic  effects  of  colour,  the  religious  gloom 
of  midnight,  are  forgotten  ;  nature  appears  no  longer  a  painting, 
but  a  sketch  ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  preserve  belief  in  the  wonders 
of  those  blest  climates  where  the  sun  reigns  in  his  full  power. 

The  sun  of  the  north  is  an  alabaster  lamp,  hung  breast-high, 
and  revolving  between  heaven  and  earth.  This  lamp,  burning 
for  weeks  and  months  without  interruption,  sheds  its  melancholy 
rays  over  a  vault  which  it  scarcely  lightens ;  nothing  is  bright, 
yet  all  things  are  visible.  The  face  of  nature,  everywhere  equally 
illuminated  by  this  pale  light,  resembles  that  of  a  poet  wrapt  in 
vision  and  hoary  with  years.  It  is  Ossian  who  remembers  his 
loves  no  more,  and  who  listens  only  to  the  voices  of  the  tombs. 

The  aspect  of  these  unvaried  surfaces — of  distances  without 
objects,  horizons  undefined,  and  lines  half  effaced — all  this  con- 
fusion of  form  and  colouring,  throws  me  into  a  gentle  reverie,  the 
peaceful  awakening  from  which  is  as  like  death  as  life.  The  soul 
resembles  the  scene,  and  rests  suspended  between  day  and  night 
— between  waking  and  sleeping.  It  is  no  lively  pleasure  that  it 
feels;  the  raptures  of  passion  cease,  but  the  inquietude  of  violent 
desires  ceases  also.  If  there  is  not  exemption  from  ennui,  there 
is  from  sorrow  :  a  perpetual  repose  possesses  both  the  mind  and 
the  body,  the  image  of  which  is  reflected  by  this  indolent  light, 
that  spreads  its  mortal  coldness  equally  over  day  and  night,  over 
the  ocean  and  the  land,  blended  into  one  by  the  icy  hand  of  win- 
ter, and  the  overspreading  mantle  of  the  polar  snows. 

The  light  of  these  flat  regions  near  the  pole  accords  well  with 
the  blue  eyes,  the  inexpressive  features,  the  fair  locks,  and  the 
timidly  romantic  imagination  of  the  women  of  the  north.  Those 
women  are  for  ever  dreaming  of  what  others  are  enacting ;  of  them 


SHORES    OF    FINLAND.  9 

more  especially  can  it  be  said,  that  life  is  but  the  vision  of  a 
shadow. 

In  approaching  these  northerly  regions  you  seem  to  be  climb- 
ing the  platform  of  a  chain  of  glaciers ;  the  nearer  you  advance, 
the  more  perfectly  is  the  illusion  realized.  The  globe  itself  seems 
to  be  the  mountain  you  are  ascending.  The  moment  you  attain 
the  summit  of  this  large  Alp,  you  experience  what  is  felt  less 
vividly  in  ascending  other  Alps  :  the  rocks  sink,  the  precipices 
crumble  away,  population  recedes,  the  earth  is  beneath  your  feet, 
you  touch  the  pole.  Viewed  from  such  elevation,  the  earth  ap- 
pears diminished,  but  the  sea  rises  and  forms  around  you  a 
vaguely  denned  circle ;  you  continue  as  though  mounting  to  the 
summit  of  a  dome — a  dome  which  is  the  world,  and  whose 
architect  is  God. 

From  thence  the  eye  extends  over  frozen  seas  and  crystal 
fields,  in  which  imagination  might  picture  the  abodes  of  the  blest 
unchangeable  inhabitants  of  an  immutable  heaven. 

Such  were  the  feelings  I  experienced  in  approaching  the  Gulf 
of  Bothnia,  whose  northern  limits  extend  to  Torneo. 

The  coast  of  Finland,  generally  considered  mountainous,  ap- 
pears to  me  but  a  succession  of  gentle,  imperceptible  hills ;  all  is 
lost  in  the  distance  and  indistinctness  of  the  misty  horizon. 
This  untransparent  atmosphere  deprives  objects  of  their  lively 
colours;  every  thing  is  dulled  and  dimmed  beneath  its  heavens  of 
mother-of-pearl.  The  vessels  just  visible  in  the  horizon,  quickly 
disappear  again  ;  for  the  glimmering  of  the  perpetual  twilight  to 
which  they  here  give  the  name  of  day  scarcely  lights  up  the  wa- 
ters ;  it  has  not  power  to  gild  the  sails  of  a  distant  vessel.  The 
canvas  of  a  ship  under  full  sail  in  northern  seas,  in  place  of 
shining  as  it  does  in  other  latitudes,  is  darkly  figured  against  the 
gray  curtain  of  heaven,  which  resembles  a  sheet  spread  out  for 
the  representation  of  Chinese  figures.  I  am  ashamed  to  confess 
it,  but  the  view  of  nature  in  the  north  reminds  me,  in  spite  of 
myself,  of  an  enormous  magic  lantern,  whose  lamp  gives  a  bad 
light,  and  the  figures  on  whose  glasses  are  worn  with  use.  I 
dislike  comparisons  which  degrade  the  subject ;  but  we  must,  at 
any  rate,  endeavour  to  describe  our  conceptions.  It  is  easier  to 
admire  than  to  disparage  ;  nevertheless,  if  we  would  describe  with 
truth,  the  feeling  that  prompts  both  sentiments  must  be  suffered 
to  operate. 

On  entering  these  whitened  deserts,  a  poetic  terror  takes  pos- 
session of  the  soul :  you  pause  affrighted  on  the  threshold  of  the 
palace  of  winter.  As  you  advance  amid  abodes  of  cold  illusions, 


10  MELANCHOLY  OF  NORTHERN  PEOPLE. 

of  visions,  brilliant,  though  with  a  silvered  rather  than  a  golden 
light,  an  indefinable  species  of  sadness  takes  possession  of  the 
heart ;  the  failing  imagination  ceases  to  create,  or  its  feeble  con- 
ceptions resemble  only  the  undefined  forms  of  the  wanly  glitter- 
ing clouds  that  meet  the  eye. 

When  the  mind  reverts  from  the  scenery  to  itself,  it  is  to 
partake  of  the  hitherto  incomprehensible  melancholy  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  north,  and  to  feel,  as  they  feel,  the  fascination  of  their 
monotonous  poetry.  This  initiation  into  the  pleasures  of  sadness 
is  painful  while  it  is  pleasing  ;  you  follow  with  slow  steps  the 
chariot  of  Death,  chanting  hymns  of  lamentation,  yet  of  hope  ; 
your  sorrowing  soul  lends  itself  to  the  illusions  around,  and  sym- 
pathizes with  the  objects  that  meet  the  sight :  the  air,  the  mist, 
the  water,  all  produce  a  novel  impression.  There  is,  whether  the 
impression  be  made  through  the  organ  of  smell  or  of  touch,  some- 
thing strange  and  unusual  in  the  sensation  :  it  announces  to  you 
that  you  are  approaching  the  confines  of  the  habitable  world  ;  the 
icy  zone  is  before  you,  and  the  polar  air  pierces  even  to  the  heart. 
This  is  not  agreeable,  but  it  is  novel  and  very  strange. 

I  cannot  cease  to  regret  having  been  detained  so  long  this 
summer,  on  account  of  my  health,  at  Paris  and  at  Ems.  Had  I 
followed  my  first  plan,  I  should  now  be  in  Lapland,  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  White  Sea,  beyond  Archangel ;  but  it  will  be  seen 
from  the  above,  that  I  feel  as  though  there,  which  is  almost  the 
same  thing. 

Descending  from  the  elevation  of  my  illusions,  I  find  myself, 
not  among  the  deserts  of  the  earth,  but  travelling  on  the  superb 
steam-boat  Nicholas  the  First,  and  in  the  midst  of  as  refined  a 
society  as  I  have  met  with  for  a  long  time. 

He  who  could  embody  in  the  style  of  Boccaccio  the  conver- 
sations in  which  I  have  taken  a  very  modest  part  during  the  last 
three  days,  might  make  a  book  as  brilliant  and  amusing  as  the 
Decameron,  and  almost  as  profound  as  La  Bruyere. 

I  had  been  long  an  invalid.  At  Travemunde  I  was  so  ill 
that,  on  the  very  day  for  sailing,  I  thought  of  renouncing  the 
journey.  My  carriage  had  been  placed  on  board,  but  I  felt  the 
cold  fit  of  fever  thrilling  through  my  veins,  and  I  feared  to  in- 
crease the  sickness  that  already  tormented  me,  by  the  sea-sick- 
ness that  I  knew  I  could  not  escape.  What  should  I  do  at 
Petersburg,  eight  hundred  leagues  from  home,  were  I  to  fall 
seriously  ill  ?  To  embark  with  a  fever  on  a  long  journey — is  it 
not  an  act  of  insanity  ?  Such  were  my  thoughts.  But,  then 
again,  would  it  not  seem  yet  more  absurd  to  change  my  mind  at 


CONVERSATION    ON    THE    STEAM-BOAT.  11 

the  last  moment,  and  have  my  carriage  brought  back  on  shore  ? 
What  would  the  people  of  Travemunde  say  ?  How  could  my 
irresolution  be  explained  to  my  friends  at  Paris  ? 

I  am  not  accustomed  to  be  governed  by  reasonings  of  this 
character,  but  I  was  sick  and  reduced  in  strength  :  the  shiverings 
also  increased ;  an  inexpressible  languor,  an  utter  distaste  for 
food,  and  severe  pains  in  the  head  and  side,  made  me  dread  a 
passage  of  four  days.  I  shall  not  survive  it,  I  said  to  myself; 
yet  to  change  a  project  is  as  difficult  for  invalids  as  for  other 
men. 

The  waters  of  Eras  have,  in  curing  one  disease,  substituted 
another.  To  cure  this  second  malady,  rest  is  necessary.  Is  not 
this  a  reason  for  deferring  a  visit  to  Siberia  ?  and  yet  I  am  going 
there  ! 

Under  the  influence  of  these  conflicting  considerations,  I  was 
absolutely  incapable  of  deciding  how  to  act. 

At  length,  determined  to  guide,  as  by  the  rules  of  a  game  of 
chance,  the  plans  of  a  life  which  I  no  longer  knew  how  to  guide 
otherwise,  I  called  my  servant,  resolved  that  he  should  decide 
the  question.  I  asked  his  opinion. 

"  We  must  go  on,"  he  replied  ;  "  it  is  so  near  the  time  of 
starting." 

"  Why,  you  are  generally  afraid  of  the  sea." 

"  I  am  afraid  of  it  still ;  but  were  I  in  the  place  of  my  master, 
I  would  not  change  my  mind  after  having  sent  my  carriage  on 
board." 

"  You  seem  more  afraid  of  my  changing  my  mind  than  of  my 
becoming  seriously  ill." 

No  answer. 

"  Tell  me,  then,  why  you  would  go  on  ?  " 

"Because !!" 

"  Very  good  !  we  will  proceed." 

"  But  if  you  should  become  worse,"  resumed  this  worthy  per- 
sonage, who  began  to  shrink  from  the  responsibility  that  would 
attach  to  him,  "  I  shall  reproach  myself  with  your  imprudence." 

"  If  I  am  ill,  you  will  take  charge  of  me." 

"  But  that  will  not  cure  you." 

"  Never  mind;  we  will  go." 

Thus  moved  by  the  eloquence  of  my  servant,  I  proceeded  on 
board,  carrying  with  me  a  fever,  low  spirits,  and  inexpressible 
regret  for  the  weakness  I  had  exhibited.  A  thousand  unpleasant 
presentiments  connected  with  my  journey  assailed  me,  and,  as 
they  weighed  anchor,  I  covered  my  eyes  in  a  fit  of  stupid  despair. 


12  .  DEFINITIONS    OF    NOBILITY. 

The  instant  the  paddles  began  to  turn,  a  revolution,  as  sudden 
and  complete  as  it  was  inexplicable,  took  place  in  my  frame  :  the 
pains  and  shivering  vanished,  my  mind  resumed  its  usual  powers, 
and  I  found  myself  suddenly  in  perfect  health.  This  change  ap- 
peared to  rne  so  singular,  that  I  cannot  resist  recording  it,  though 
at  the  risk  perhaps  of  not  being  believed. 

Among  the  passengers  on  board  the  steamer,  I  observed  an 
elderly  man,  whose  immensely  swollen  legs  could  hardly  support 
his  corpulent  frame.  His  head,  well  set  between  his  large 
shoulders,  had  a  noble  cast :  it  was  a  portrait  of  Louis  XVI. 

I  soon  learnt  that  he  was  the  Russian  Prince  K ,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  conquering  Varegues,  and  therefore  one  of  the 
most  ancient  of  the  Russian  nobility. 

As  I  observed  him,  supported  by  his  secretary,  and  moving 
with  difficulty  towards  a  seat,  I  could  not  help  saying  to  myself, 
here  is  a  sorry  travelling  companion  ;  but  on  hearing  his  name, 
which  I  well  knew  by  reputation,  I  reproached  myself  for  this 
incorrigible  mania  of  judging  by  appearances. 

As  soon  as  seated,  the  old  gentleman,  the  expression  of  whose 
face  was  shrewd,  although  noble  and  sincere,  addressed  me  by 
name. 

Apostrophized  thus  suddenly,  I  rose  without  replying.  The 
prince  continued  in  that  truly  aristocratic  tone,  the  perfect  sim- 
plicity of  which  excludes  all  idea  of  ceremony  : — 

"  You,  who  have  seen  almost  all  Europe,  will,  I  am  sure,  be 
of  my  opinion." 

"  On  what  subject,  prince  ?  " 

"  On  England.  I  was  saying  to  Prince  ,  here,"  indi- 
cating with  his  finger,  and  without  further  presentation,  the  indi- 
vidual with  whom  he  was  talking,  "  that  there  is  no  noblesse 
among  the  English.  They  have  titles  and  offices ;  but  the  idea 
which  we  attach  to  a  real  order  of  nobility,  distinguished  by 
characteristics  which  can  neither  be  purchased  nor  conferred,  is 
unknown  to  them.  A  monarch  may  create  a  prince ;  education, 
circumstances,  genius,  virtue,  may  make  a  hero ;  but  none  of 
these  things  are  sufficient  to  constitute  a  nobleman." 

"  Prince,"  I  replied,  "  a  noblesse,  in  that  sense  of  the  word 
which  was  once  understood  in  France  and  in  which  you  and  I, 
I  believe,  understand  it  at  present,  has  become  a  fiction,  and  was 
perhaps  always  one.  You  remind  me  of  the  observation  of  M.  de 
Lauraguais,  who  said,  on  returning  from  an  assembly  of  the  mar- 
shals of  France,  '  we  were  twelve  dukes  and  peers,  but  I  was  the 
only  gentleman.'  " 


THE    ENGLISH    NOBILITY.  13 

"  He  said  the  truth,"  replied  the  prince.  "  On  the  continent, 
the  gentleman  alone  is  considered  as  noble,*  because  in  countries 
where  nobility  is  still  something  real,  it  is  inherent  in  the  blood, 
and  not  in  fortune,  favour,  talent,  or  avocation ;  it  is  the  produce 
of  history ;  and,  as  in  physics,  the  period  for  the  formation  of 
certain  metals  appears  to  have  ceased,  so  in  communities,  the 
period  for  the  creation  of  noble  families  has  ceased  also.  It  is 
this  of  which  the  English  are  ignorant." 

"  It  is  true,"  I  answered,  "  that  though  still  preserving  much 
feudal  pride,  they  have  lost  the  spirit  of  feudal  institutions.  In 
England,  chivalry  has  ceded  to  industry,  which  has  readily  con- 
sented to  take  up  its  abode  in  a  baronial  constitution,  on  condition 
that  the  ancient  privileges  attached  to  names  should  be  placed 
within  reach  of  newly-founded  families. 

"  By  this  social  revolution,  the  result  of  a  succession  of  polit- 
ical changes,  hereditary  rights  are  no  longer  attached  to  a  race, 
but  are  transferred  to  individuals,  to  offices,  and  to  estates.  For- 
merly the  warrior  ennobled  the  land  that  he  won ;  now  it  is  the 
possession  of  the  land  which  constitutes  the  noble ;  and  what  is 
called  a  noblesse  in  England,  seems  to  me  to  be  nothing  more 
than  a  class  that  is  rich  enough  to  pay  for  wearing  a  certain 
dress.  This  monied  aristocracy  differs,  no  doubt,  very  greatly 
from  the  aristocracy  of  blood.  Rank  that  has  been  bought,  has 
an  evidence  of  the  intelligence  and  activity  of  the  man. ;  rank  that 
has  been  inherited  is  an  evidence  of  the  favor  of  Providence.! 

"  The  confusion  of  ideas  respecting  the  two  kinds  of  aristoc- 
racy, that  of  money  and  that  of  birth,  is  such  in  England,  that 
the  descendants  of  a  family,  whose  name  belongs  to  the  history 
of  the  country,  if  they  happen  to  be  poor  and  are  without  title, 

will  tell  you  they  are  not  noble ;  while  my  Lord (grandson 

of  a  tailor),  forms,  as  member  of  the  house  of  peers,  a  part  of  the 
high  aristocracy  of  the  land." 

"  I  knew  that  we  should  agree,"  replied  the  prince,  with  a 
graceful  gravity  that  is  peculiar  to  him. 

Struck  with  this  easy  manner  of  making  acquaintance,  I  began 

to  examine  the  countryman  of  the  Prince  K ,  Prince  D , 

the  celebrity  of  whose  name  had  already  attracted  my  attention. 
I  beheld  a  man  still  young ;  his  complexion  wore  a  leaden  hue  ; 
a  quiet,  patient  expression  was  visible  in  his  eye,  but  his  fore- 
head was  full,  his  figure  tall,  and  throughout  his  person  there  was 

*  Gentilhomme,  i.  e.  person  of  ancient  family. — Trans 
\  Atteste  la  faveur  de  la  Providence. 


14  THE    ENGLISH    NOBILITY. 

a  regularity  which  accorded  with  the  coldness  of  his  manners,  and 
the  harmony  produced  by  which  was  not  unpleasing. 

Prince  K ,  who  never  tired  of  conversation,  continued  : — 

"  To  prove  to  you  that  the  English  notions  of  nobility  differ 
from  ours,  I  will  relate  a  little  anecdote  which  will  perhaps  amuse 
you. 

"In  1814  I  attended  the  Emperor  Alexander  on  his  visit  to 
London.  At  that  time  His  Majesty  honoured  me  with  much  con- 
fidence, which  procured  for  me  many  marks  of  kindness  on  the 
part  of  the  Prince  of  Wales,  then  Regent.  This  prince  took  me 
aside  one  day,  and  said  to  me,  '  I  should  like  to  do  something 
that  would  be  agreeable  to  the  Emperor.  He  appears  to  have 
a  great  regard  for  the  physician  who  accompanies  him ;  could  I 
confer  on  this  person  any  favour  that  would  please  your  master  ?  ' 

<;  You  could,  sir,'  I  replied. 

"  '  What,  then,  should  it  be  ?  ' 

"'  Nobility.' 

"  On  the  morrow  the  doctor  was  made  a  knight.  The  Em- 
peror took  pains  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  distinction  which 
thus  constituted  his  physician  a  Sir,  and  his  physician's  wife  a 
Lady ;  but,  although  his  powers  of  comprehension  were  good,  he 
died  without  being  able  to  understand  our  explanations,  or  the 
value  of  the  new  dignity  conferred  upon  his  medical  man." 

"  The  ignorance  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,"  I  replied,  "  is 
justified  by  that  of  many  well-informed  men :  look  at  the  greater 
number  of  novels  in  which  foreigners  attempt  to  depict  English 
society."  This  discourse  served  as  a  prelude  to  a  most  agree- 
able conversation,  which  lasted  several  hours.  The  tone  of 
society  among  the  higher  ranks  in  Russia  is  marked  by  an  easy 
politeness,  the  secret  of  which  is  almost  lost  among  ourselves. 

Every  one,  not  even  excluding  the  French  secretary  of 

Prince  K ,  appears  modest,  superior  to  the  little  cares  and 

contrivances  of  vanity  and  self-love,  and  consequently,  exempt 
from  their  mistakes  and  mortifications.  If  it  is  this  that  one 
gains  from  living  under  a  despotism,  Vive  la  Russie  !  *  How 
can  polished  manners  subsist  in  a  country  where  nothing  is  re- 
spected, seeing  that  don  ton  is  only  discernment  in  testifying 
respect  ?  Let  us  recommence  by  showing  respect  to  those  who 

*  The  author  here  requests  a  liberal  construction  on  the  part  of  the 
reader,  in  order  to  reconcile  his  apparent  contradictions.  It  is  only  front 
a  frank  statement  of  the  various  contradictory  views  that  present  them- 
selves to  the  mind,  that  definitive  conclusions  are  eventually  to  be  obtained. 


FREEDOM  OF  SPEECH — CANNING.  15 

have  a  right  to  deference,  and  we  shall  then  again  become  natu- 
rally, and,  so  to  speak,  involuntarily  polite. 

Notwithstanding  the  reserve  which  I  threw  into  my  answers 

to  the  Prince  K ,  the  old  diplomatist  quickly  discovered  the 

tendency  of  my  views. 

"  You  do  not  belong  either  to  your  country  or  to  your  age," 
he  exclaimed;  ''you  are  an  enemy  to  the  power  of  speech  as  a 
political  engine.'1 

u  It  is  true,"  I  replied  ;  "  any  other  way  of  ascertaining  the 
worth  of  men  appears  to  me  preferable  to  public  speaking,  in  a 
country  where  self-love  is  so  easily  ex<cited  as  in  mine.  I  do  not 
believe  that  there  could  be  found  in  France  many  men  who 
would  not  sacrifice  their  most  cherished  opinions  to  the  desire  of 
having  it  said  that  they  had  made  a  good  speech." 

"  Nevertheless,"  pursued  the  liberal  Russian  prince,  l!  every 
thing  is  included  in  the  gift  of  language  ;  ever}^  thing  that  is  in 
man,  and  something  even  beyond,  reveals  itself  by  discourse  : 
there  is  divinity  in  speech." 

"  I  agree  with  you,"  I  replied,  "  and  it  is  for  that  very  reason 
that  I  dread  to  see  it  prostituted." 

<:  When  a  genius  like  that  of  Mr.  Canning's,"  continued  the 
prince,  "  enchained  the  attention  of  the  first  men  of  England  and 
of  the  wo^ld,  surely  political  oratory  was  something  great  and 
glorious  !  " 

"  What  good  has  this  brilliant  genius  produced  ?  and  what 
evil  would  he  not  have  caused  if  he  had  had  inflammable  minds 
for  auditors  ?  Speech  employed  in  private,  as  a  means  of  per- 
suasion, to  change  the  direction  of  ideas,  to  influence  the  action 
of  a  man,  or  of  a  small  number  of  men,  appears  to  me  useful, 
either  as  an  auxiliary  or  as  a  counterbalance  to  power;  but  I 
fear  it  in  a  large  political  assembly  whose  deliberations  are  con- 
ducted in  public.  It  too  often  secures  a  triumph  to  limited 
views  and  fallacious  popular  notions,  at  the  expense  of  lofty,  far- 
sighted  conceptions,  and  plans  profoundly  laid.  To  impose 
upon  nations  the  domination  of  majorities  is  to  subject  them  to 
mediocrity.  If  such  is  not  your  object,  you  do  wrong  to  laud 
oratorical  influence.  The  politics  of  large  assemblies  are  almost 
always  timid,  sordid,  and  unprincipled.  You  oppose  to  this  the 
case  of  England  :  that  country  is  not  what  it  is  supposed  to  be. 
It  is  true  that  in  its  houses  of  parliament,  questions  are  decided 
by  the  majority  ;  bat  that  majority  represents  the  aristocracy  of 
the  land,  which  for  a  long  time  has  not  ceased,  except  at  very 
brief  intervals,  to  direct  the  affairs  of  the  state.  Besides,  to 


16  CONFIDENTIAL    CONVERSATION. 

what  refuges  of  lies  have  not  parliamentary  forms  compelled  the 
leaders  of  this  masked  oligarchy  to  descend  ?  Is  it  for  this  that 
you  envy  England?  " 

"  Nevertheless,  man  must  be  led  either  by  fear  or  by  persua- 
sion." 

"  True,  but  action  is  more  persuasive  than  words.  Does  not 
the  Prussian  government  prove  this  ?  Does  not  Buonaparte  ? 
Buonaparte  at  the  commencement  of  his  reign  governed  by  per- 
suasion as  much  as,  or  more  than,  by  force,  and  yet  his  eloquence, 
though  great,  was  never  addressed  except  to  individuals  ;  to  the 
mass  he  never  spoke  except  by  deeds  :  to  discuss  the  laws  in 
public  is  to  rob  them  of  that  respect  which  is  the  secret  of  their 
power." 

"  You  are  a  friend  to  despotism  ?  " 

"On  the  contrary,  I  dread  the  lawyers,  and  their  echo  the 
newspapers  *,  which  are  but  speeches  whoso  echo  resounds  for 
twenty-four  hours.  This  is  the  despotism  which  threatens  us  in 
the  present  day." 

"  Come  among  us,  and  you  will  learn  to  fear  some  other 
kinds." 

"  It  will  not  be  you,  prince,  who  will  succeed  in  imbuing  me 
with  a  bad  opinion  of  Russia." 

"  Do  not  judge  of  it  either  by  me,  or  by  any  other  Russian 
who  has  travelled  :  our  natural  flexibility  renders  us  cosmopo- 
lites the  moment  we  leave  our  own  land;  and  this  disposition  of 
mind  is  in  itself  a  satire  against  our  government !  " 

Here,  notwithstanding  his  habit  of  speaking  openly  on  all 
subjects,  the  prince  began  to  distrust  both  himself,  me,  and  every 
one  else,  and  took  refuge  in  some  remarks  not  very  conspicuous 
for  their  perspicuity.  He  afterwards,  however,  availed  himself 
of  a  moment  wrhen  we  were  alone  to  lay  before  me  his  opinion  as 
to  the  character  of  the  men  and  the  institutions  of  his  country. 
The  following,  as  nearly  as  I  can  recollect,  forms  the  sum  of  his 
observations : — 

"  Russia,  in  the  present  age,  is  only  four  hundred  years  re- 
moved from  the  invasions  of  barbarian  tribes,  whilst  fourteen 
centuries  have  elapsed  since  Western  Europe  experienced  the 
same  crisis.  A  civilization  older  by  one  thousand  years,  of 
course  places  an  immeasurable  distance  between  the  manners  of 
nations. 

• 

*  These  allusions,  it  must  be  remembered,  refer  more  especially  to 
France  under  King  Louis  Philippe. — Trans. 


CHIVALRY    UNKNOWN    IN    RUSSIA.  17 

"  Many  ages  before  the  irruption  of  the  Mongols,  the  Scandi- 
navians rulers  placed  over  the  Sclavonians  (then  altogether  sav- 
ages) chieftains,  who  reigned  at  Great  Novogorod  and  at  Kiew, 
under  the  name  of  Varangians.  These  foreign  heroes,  supported 
by  a  small  retinue  of  armed  followers,  became  the  first  princes  of 
the  Russians;  and  their  companions  in  arms  are  the  stock  whence 
proceeds  the  more  ancient  nobility.  The  Varangian  princes,  who 
were  a  species  of  demigods,  governed  the  nation  while  still  com- 
posed of  wandering  tribes.  It  was  from  the  emperors  and  pa- 
triarchs of  Constantinople  that  they  at  this  period  derived  all 
their  notions  of  luxury  and  the  arts.  Such,  if  I  may  be  allowed 
the  expression,  was  the  first-laid  stratum  of  civilization  in  Rus- 
sia, afterwards  trampled  on  and  destroyed  by  the  Tartar  con- 
querors. 

"  A  vast  body  of  saints,  who  were  the  legislators  of  a  newly 
converted  Christian  people,  illume,  with  their  names,  this  fabu- 
lous epoch  of  Russian  history.  Princes,  also  great  by  their 
savage  virtues,  ennoble  the  early  period  of  the  Sclavonian  annals. 
Their  names  shine  out  from  the  profound  darkness  of  the  age, 
like  stars  piercing  the  clouds  of  a  stormy  night.  The  very  sound 
of  these  strange  names  excites  the  imagination  and  challenges 
curiosity.  Rurick,  Oleg,  Queen  Olga,  Saint  Wladimir,  Swiato- 
polk,  and  Monomachus,  are  personages  whose  characters  no  more 
resemble  those  of  the  heroes  of  the  West  than  do  their  appella- 
tions. 

"  They  have  nothing  of  the  chivalrous  about  them ;  they  are 
like  the  monarchs  of  Scripture  ;  the  nation  which  they  rendered 
great  remained  in  the  vicinity  of  Asia;  ignorant  of  your  romance, 
it  preserved  manners  that  were  in  a  great  measure  patriarchal. 

"  The  Russian  nation  was  not  formed  in  that  brilliant  school 
of  good  faith,  by  whose  instructions  chivalrous  Europe  had  so 
well  profited,  that  the  word  honour  was  for  a  long  period  synony- 
mous with  truth,  and  the  word  of  honour  had  a  sanctity  which  is 
still  revered,  even  in  France,  where  so  many  things  have  been 
forgotten. 

"  The  noble  influence  of  the  Knights  of  the  cross  stopped, 
with  that  of  Catholicism,  in  Poland.  The  Russians  are  warriors, 
but  they  fight  under  the  principle  of  obedience,  and  with  the  ob- 
ject of  gain ;  the  Polish  chevaliers  fought  for  the  pure  love  of 
glory;  and  thus,  though  these  two  people  spring  from  the  same 
stock,  and  have  still  many  points  of  resemblance,  the  events  of 
history  have  separated  them  so  widely,  that  it  will  require  u 
greater  number  of  ages  of  Russians  policy  to  reunite  them  than 


18  FRAUDULENT    CHARACTER    OF    RUSSIAN    GOVERNMENT. 

it  has  required  of  religion  and  of  social  habitudes  to  part  them 
asunder. 

"  Whilst  Europe  was  slowly  recovering  from  the  efforts  she 
had  made  during  centuries  to  rescue  the  tomb  of  Christ  from  the 
unbelievers,  Russia  was  paying  tribute  to  the  Mohammedans  un- 
der Usbeck,  and  at  the  same  time  drawing  her  arts  and  sciences, 
her  manners,  religion,  and  politics,  as  also  her  principles  of  craft 
and  fraud,  and  her  aversion  to  the  Latin  cross,  from  the  Greek 
Empire.  If  we  reflect  on  all  these  civil,  religious,  and  political 
influences,  we  shall  no  longer  wonder  at  the  little  confidence  that 
can  be  placed  in  the  word  of  a  Russian  (it  is  the  Russian  prince 
who  speaks),  nor  that  the  Russian  character  in  general  should 
bear  the  impress  of  that  false  Byzantine  stamp  which  influences 
social  life  even  under  the  empire  of  the  Czars — worthy  successors 
of  the  lieutenants  of  Bati. 

"  The  unmitigated  despotism  that  reigns  over  us  established 
itself  at  the  very  period  when  servitude  ceased  in  the  rest  of 
Europe.  From  the  time  of  the  invasion  of  the  Mongols,  the 
Sclavonians,  until  then  one  of  the  freest  people  in  the  world, 
became  slaves  first  to  their  conquerors,  and  afterwards  to  their 
own  princes.  Bondage  was  thenceforward  established  among 
them,  not  only  as  an  existing  state,  but  as  a  constituent  principle 
of  society.  It  has  degraded  the  right  of  speech  in  Russia  to  such 
a  point,  that  it  is  no  longer  considered  any  thing  better  than  a 
snare  :  our  government  lives  by  lies,  for  truth  is  as  terrible  to  the 
tyrant  as  to  the  slave.  Thus,  little  as  one  speaks  in  Russia,  one 
always  speaks  too  much,  since  in  that  country  all  discourse  is  the 
expression  of  religious  or  political  hypocrisy." 

"Prince,"  I  replied,  after  having  listened  attentively  to  this  long 
series  of  deductions,  "  I  will  not  believe  you.  It  is  enlightened 
to  rise  above  national  prejudices,  and  polite  to  deal  gently  with 
the  prejudices  of  foreigners ;  but  I  have  no  more  confidence  in 
your  concessions  than  I  have  in  others'  claims  and  pretensions." 

"  In  three  months  you  will  render  me  greater  justice  ;  mean- 
while, and  as  we  are  yet  alone," — he  said  this  after  looking  round 
on  all  sides, — "  I  will  direct  your  attention  to  a  leading  point,  I 
will  present  you  with  a  key  which  will  serve  to  explain  every 
thing  to  you  in  the  country  you  are  about  to  visit. 

"  Think  at  each  step  you  take  among  this  Asiatic  people  that 
the  chivalrous  and  Catholic  influence  has  never  obtained  in  their 
land ;  and  not  only  have  they  never  adopted  it,  they  have  with- 
stood it  also,  with  bitter  animosity,  during  long  wars  with  Lithu- 
ania, Poland,  and  the  knights  of  the  Teutonic  order." 


POLITICS    AND    RELIGION    IDENTICAL    IN    RUSSIA.  19 

u  You  make  me  proud  of  my  discernment.  I  wrote  lately  to 
one  of  my  friends,  that  I  conceived  religious  intolerance  to  be 
the  secret  spring  of  Russian  policy." 

"You  anticipated  clearly  what  you  are  going  to  see;  you  can  have 
no  adequate  idea  of  the  intense  intolerance  of  the  Russians;  those 
whose  minds  are  cultivated,  and  whom  business  brings  into  inter- 
course with  Western  Europe,  take  the  utmost  pains  to  conceal  the 
predominant  national  sentiment,  which  is  the  triumph  of  the  Greek 
orthodoxy — with  them,  synonymous  with  the  policy  of  Russia. 

"  Without  keeping  this  in  view,  nothing  can  be  explained  either 
in  our  manners  or  our  politics.  You  must  not  believe,  for  ex- 
ample, that  the  persecutions  in  Poland  were  the  effect  of  the  per- 
sonal resentment  of  the  Emperor ;  they  were  the  result  of  -a 
profound  and  deliberate  calculation.  These  acts  of  cruelty  are 
meritorious  in  the  eyes  of  true  believers;  it  is  the  Holy  Spirit 
who  so  enlightens  the  sovereign  as  to  elevate  him  above  all  human 
feelings  ;  and  it  is  God  who  blesses  him  as  the  executor  of  his 
high  designs.  By  this  manner  of  viewing  things,  judges  and  ex- 
ecutioners become  so  much  the  greater  saints  as  they  are  greater 
barbarians.  Your  legitimist  journals  little  know  what  they  are 
doing  when  they  seek  for  allies  among  schismatics.  We  shall 
see  an  European  revolution  before  we  shall  see  the  Emperor  of 
Russia  acting  in  good  faith  with  a  Catholic  power;  the  Pro- 
testants are  at  least  open  adversaries ;  besides,  they  will  more 
readily  reunite  with  the  Pope  than  the  chief  of  the  Russian  auto- 
cracy ;  for  the  Protestants,  having  beheld  all  their  creeds  dege- 
nerate into  systems,  and  their  religious  faith  transformed  into 
philosophic  doubt,  have  nothing  left  but  their  sectarian  pride  to 
sacrifice  to  Rome  ;  whereas  the  Emperor  possesses  a  real  and  pos- 
itive spiritual  power,  which  he  will  never  voluntarily  relinquish. 
Rome,  and  all  that  can  be  connected  with  the  Romish  church,  has 
no  more  dangerous  enemy  than  the  autocrat  of  Moscow — visible 
head  of  his  own  church  ;  and  I  am  astonished  that  Italian  pene- 
tration has  not  discovered  the  danger  that  threatens  you  from 
that  quarter.  After  this  veracious  picture,  judge  of  the  illusion 
with  which  the  Legitimists  of  Paris  nurse  their  hopes.1' 

This  conversation  will  give  an  idea  of  all  the  others.  When- 
ever the  subject  became  unpleasant  to  Muscovite  self-love,  the 

Prince  K broke  off,  at  least  until  he  was  fully  sure  that  no 

one  overheard  us. 

The  subjects  of  our  discourse  have  made  me  reflect,  and  uiy 
reflections  make  me  fear. 

There  is  perhaps  more  to  look  forward  to  in  this  country, 


20  MILITARY    SPIRIT    IN    RUSSIA. 

long  depreciated  by  our  modern  thinkers,  because  appearing  so  far 
behind  all  others,  than  in  those  English  colonies  implanted  on 
the  American  soil,  and  which  are  too  highly  vaunted  by  the 
philosophers  whose  systems  have  developed  the  real  democracy, 
with  all  its  abuses,  which  now  subsists. 

If  the  military  spirit  which  prevails  in  Russia  has  failed  to 
produce  any  thing  analogous  to  our  creed  of  honour,  or  to  invest 
its  soldiers  with  the  brilliant  reputation  which  distinguishes  ours, 
it  should  not  therefore  be  said  that  the  nation  is  less  powerful. 
Honour  is  a  human  divinity,  but  in  practical  life  duty  outvalues 
even  honour ;  though  not  so  dazzling,  it  is  more  sustained  and 
more  capable  of  sustaining. 

In  my  opinion  the  empire  of  the  world  is  henceforth  no 
longer  to  be  committed  to  the  turbulent,  but  to  people  of  a  patient 
spirit.*  Europe,  enlightened  as  she  now  is.  will  no  longer  sub- 
mit, except  to  real  strength  :  now  the  real  strength  of  nations  is 
obedience  to  the  power  which  rules  them,  just  as  discipline  is  the 
strength  of  armies.  Henceforth  falsehood  will  react  so  as  to  pro- 
duce most  injury  to  those  who  would  make  it  their  instrument ; 
truth  will  give  birth  to  a  new  influence,  so  greatly  will  neglect 
and  disuse  have  renewed  its  youth  and  vigour. 

When  our  cosmopolitan  democracies,  bearing  their  last  fruits, 
shall  have  made  war  a  detested  thing  to  all  people, — when  na- 
tions once  the  most  civilized  of  the  earth  shall,  by  their  political 
debaucheries,  have  brought  themselves  to  a  state  of  enervation, 
and,  from  one  fall  to  another,  have  sunk  into  internal  lethargy 
and  external  contempt,  then — all  alliance  being  admitted  im- 
possible with  societies  steeped  in  helpless  egotism — the  flood- 
gates of  the  North  will  again  open  upon  us,  and  we  shall  have 
to  endure  a  last  great  invasion — an  invasion  of  no  longer  ignorant 
barbarians,  but  of  a  people  more  enlightened  and  instructed  than 
ourselves,  for  they  will  have  been  taught,  by  our  excesses,  the 
means  and  the  mode  of  ruling  over  us. 

It  is  not  without  design  that  Providence  is  accumulating  so 
many  inactive  instruments  of  power  in  Eastern  Europe.  A  day 
will  come  when  the  sleeping  giant  will  rise  up,  and  when  force 
will  put  an  end  to  the  reign  of  speech.  Vainly,  at  that  time,  will 
dismayed  Equality  call  upon  the  old  Aristocracy  to  rise  in  rescue 

*  I  must  again  request  the  reader  who  would  follow  me  throughout  this 
work,  to  wait  before  forming  an  opinion  of  Russia,  until  he  shall  have 
compared  my  different  views  made  before  and  after  my  journey.  The  can- 
dour and  good  faith  with  which  I  profess  to  write  forbid  me  to  retrench 
any  thing  that  I  have  already  written. 


FUTURE    INFLUENCE    OF    RUSSIA.  21 

of  Liberty.  Arms  in  the  hands  of  those  too  long  unaccustomed 
to  their  use,  will  be  weak  and  powerless.  Society  will  perish  for 
having  put  its  trust  in  empty  words,  and  then  those  lying  echoes 
of  opinion,  the  journals,  will  revel  in  the  overthrow,  were  it  only 
to  have  something  to  relate  for  one  month  longer.  They  will  kill 
society  in  order  to  feast  upon  its  carcass. 

Germany,  with  enlightened  governments,  and  its  good  and 
sensible  people,  might  again  lay  in  Europe  the  foundations  of  a 
protective  aristocracy,*  but  its  governments  are  not  one  with  its 
people.  The  King  of  Prussia  become  the  mere  advance  guard 
of  Russia,f  has  converted  his  soldiers  into  silent  and  patient  re- 
volutionists, instead  of  having  availed  himself  of  their  good  dis- 
positions to  render  them  the  natural  defenders  of  ancient  Europe, 
— that  only  portion  of  the  earth  where  rational  liberty  has  hith- 
erto discovered  an  asylum.  In  Germany  it  might  yet  be  possible 
to  allay  the  storm  ;  in  France,  England,  and  Spain,  we  can  now 
do  no  more  than  await  the  thunderbolt.  A  return  to  religious 
unity  would  save  Europe.  But  this  unity,  by  what  means  can  it 
be  restored  ?  by  what  new  miracles  will  it  enforce  its  claims  on 
an  indifferent  and  thankless  world  ?  by  what  authority  will  it  be 
supported  ?  This  is  a  secret  with  God.  The  human  mind  pro- 
poses problems, — it  is  the  Divine  action,  that  is  to  say,  it  is  time, 
which  must  resolve  them. 

These  considerations  fill  me  with  painful  apprehensions  for 
my  own  country.  When  the  world,  wearied  with  half  measures, 
shall  have  taken  one  step  towards  the  truth. — when  religion  shall 
be  recognised  as  the  only  important  principle  of  society,  actuated 
no  longer  by  perishable,  but  by  real,  that  is,  eternal,  interests, 
— Paris,  frivolous  Paris,  exalted  so  proudly  under  the  reign  of  a 
sceptical  philosophy, — Paris,  the  wanton  capital  of  indifference 
and  of  cynicism,  will  it  preserve  its  supremacy  amid  generations 
taught  by  fear,  sanctified  by  chastisements,  undeceived  by  expe- 
rience, and  perfected  by  meditation  ? 

The  reaction  would  have  to  proceed  from  Paris  itself.  Dare 
we  hope  for  such  a  prodigy  ?  Who  will  assure  us,  that  at  the 
termination  of  the  epoch  of  destruction,  and  when  the  new  light 
of  faith  shall  illume  the  heart  of  all  Europe,  the  centre  of  civili- 
zation shall  not  be  removed  ?  Who,  in  short,  shall  say,  whether 
France,  cast  off  for  her  impiety,  will  not  then  become  to  the  re- 
generated Catholics  what  Greece  was  to  the  early  Christians — 

*  Une  aristocratic  tut61aire. 

f  This  was  written  in  June,  1839. 


22  PRINCE    AND    PRINCESS    D- 


the  ruined  temple  of  pride  and  eloquence  ?  What  right  has  she 
to  hope  for  immunity  ?  Nations  die  like  individuals,  and  volcanic 
nations  die  quickly. 

Our  past  was  so  brilliant,  our  present  is  so  tarnished,  that, 
instead  of  boldly  invoking  the  future,  we  ought  to  look  forward 
to  it  with  dread.  I  avow  it,  from  henceforth,  that* my  fears  for 
my  country  exceed  my  hopes  ;  and  the  impetuosity  of  that  young 
France,  which,  under  the  bloody  reign  of  the  Convention,  prom- 
ised such  glorious  triumphs,  now  appears  to  me  as  the  symptom 
of  dotage  and  decay.  Yet  the  present  state  of  things,  with  all  its 
evils,  is  better  for  us  than  the  era  which  it  presages,  and  from 
which  I  essay  in  vain  to  turn  away  my  thoughts. 

The  curiosity  which  I  feel  to  see  Russia,  and  the  admiration 
with  which  the  spirit  of  order  that  must  govern  the  administra- 
tion of  so  vast  a  state  inspires  me,  do  not  prevent  my  judging 
impartially  of  the  policy  of  its  government.  The  domination  of 
Russia,  when  confining  itself  to  diplomatic  efforts,  without  pro- 
ceeding to  actual  conquest,  appears  to  me  that  which  is  most  to 
be  dreaded  by  the  wrorld.  There  is  much  misapprehension  as 
regards  the  part  which  this  state  would  play  in  Europe.  In  ac- 
cordance with  its  constitutional  character,  it  would  represent  the 
principle  of  order,  but  influenced  by  the  character  of  its  rulers,  it 
seeks  to  propagate  tyranny  under  pretext  of  remedy  ing  anarchy ; 
as  though  arbitrary  power  could  remedy  any  evil  I  It  is  the 
elements  of  moral  principle  that  this  nation  lacks  ;  with  its  mili- 
tary habits,  and  its  recollections  of  invasions,  it  is  still  occupied 
with  notions  of  wars  of  conquest,  the  most  brutal  of  all  wars  ; 
whereas  the  struggles  of  France  and  the  other  western  nations 
will  henceforth  assume  the  character  of  wars  of  propagandisin. 

The  number  of  passengers  whom  I  have  fallen  in  with  on 
board  the  Nicholas  I.  is  fortunately  few.  There  is  a  young 

Princess  D accompanying  her  husband  on  his  return  to  St. 

Petersburg,  a  charming  person,  in  appearance  quite  the  heroine 
of  a  Scottish  romance. 

This  amiable  couple,  accompanied  also  by  the  brother  of  the 
princess,  have  been  passing  several  months  in  Silesia,  subjecting 
themselves  to  the  treatment  of  the  famous  cold  water  remedy. 
It  is  more  than  a  remedy,  it  is  a  sacrament ;  it  is  medical  bap- 
tism. 

In  the  fervour  of  their  faith,  the  prince  and  princess  have  en- 
tertained us  with  the  recital  of  wonderful  results  obtained  by 
this  mode  of  cure.  The  discovery  is  due  to  a  peasant,  who  pro- 
fesses to  be  superior  to  all  the  doctors  in  the  world,  and  justifies 


THE    COLD-WATER    CURE.  23 

his  pretensions  by  his  works.  He  believes  in  himself;  this  ex- 
ample communicates  itself  to  others ;  and  many  disciples  of  the 
new  apostle  are  made  whole  by  their  faith.  Crowds  of  strangers 
from  every  country  resort  to  Graferiberg,  where  all  diseases  are 
treated  except  those  of  the  chest.  The  patient  is  subjected  to 
the  pumping  system  (ice-cold  water  being  employed),  and  then 
wrapped  for  five  or  six  hours  in  flannel.  No  complaint,  said  the 
prince,  could  withstand  the  perspiration,  which  this  treatment 
produces. 

"  No  complaint,  and  no  individual  either,"  I  remarked. 

"  You  are  mistaken,"  replied  the  prince,  with  the  zeal  of  a 
new  convert ;  "  among  a  multitude,  there  are  very  few  who  have 
died  at  Grafenberg.  Princes  and  princesses  fix  themselves  near 
to  the  new  saviour,  and  after  having  tried  his  remedy,  the  love 
of  water  becomes  quite  a  passion." 

Here  Prince  D looked  at  his  watch,  and  called  a  servant. 

The  man  came  with  a  large  pitcher  of  cold  water  in  his  hand, 
and  poured  it  over  his  master's  body  between  the  waistcoat  and 
the  shirt.  I  could  scarcely  credit  my  senses. 

The  prince  continued  the  conversation  without  noticing  my 
astonishment. 

"  The  father  of  the  reigning  Duke  of  Nassau  arrived  at 
Grafenberg  entirely  deprived  of  the  use  of  his  limbs ;  the  water 
has  greatly  restored  him ;  but  as  he  aspires  to  a  perfect  cure,  it 
is  uncertain  when  he  leaves.  No  one  knows  on  arriving  at  Graf- 
enberg how  long  he  will  remain ;  the  duration  of  the  treatment 
depends  on  the  complaint  and  the  temperament  of  the  individual ; 
besides,  one  cannot  calculate  on  the  influence  of  a  passion,  and 
this  mode  of  using  water  becomes  a  passion  with  some  people, 
who  continue  indefinitely  to  linger  near  the  source  of  their  supreme 
felicity." 

"  Prince,  in  listening  to  your  account,  I  am  ready  to  believe 
in  these  wonderful  results  ;  but  when  I  reflect,  I  must  still  doubt 
their  efficacy.  Such  apparent  cures  have  often  evil  consequences ; 
perspirations  so  violent  decompose  the  blood,  and  often  change 
gout  into  dropsy." 

"  I  am  so  persuaded  of  the  efficacy  of  the  cold-water  treat- 
ment," replied  the  prince,  "  that  I  am  going  to  form  near  to  me 
an  establishment  similar  to  that  of  Grafenberg." 

The  Sclavonians,  thought  I  to  myself,  have  a  mania  for  other 
things  besides  cold  water,  namely,  a  general  passion  for  novelties. 
The  thoughts  of  this  imitative  people  willingly  exercise  them- 
selves with  the  inventions  of  others. 


24  HIS    MAUVAIS    TON. 

Besides  the  personages  already  mentioned,  there  was  yet 
another  Russian  princess  on  board  our  vessel.  This  lady,  the 

Princess  L ,  was  a  most  agreeable  person  in  society :  our 

evenings  were  passed  delightfully  in  listening  to  Russian  airs, 
which  she  sung  with  pleasing  execution,  and  which  were  quite 

new  to  me.  The  Princess  D took  parts  with  her,  and  even 

sometimes  accompanied  the  airs  with  a  few  graceful  steps  of  some 
Cossack  dance.  These  national  exhibitions  and  impromptu  con- 
certs agreeably  suspended  our  conversations,  and  made  the  hours 
pass  like  moments. 

Our  Russian  ladies  have  admitted  into  their  little  circle  a 
French  merchant,  who  is  one  of  the  passengers.  He  is  a  man 
rather  past  the  middle  age,  full  of  great  schemes  connected  with 
steam-boats  and  railroad,  but  still  exhibiting  all  his  former 
youthful  pretensions  ;  agreeable  smiles  and  gracious  mien  blended 
with  winning  grimaces,  plebeian  gestures,  narrow  ideas,  and 
studied  language.  He  is,  notwithstanding,  a  good  fellow,  speak- 
ing willingly,  and  even  well,  when  he  speaks  on  subjects  with 
which  he  is  conversant ;  amusing  also,  though  self-sufficient,  and 
sometimes  rather  prosy. 

He  is  going  to  Russia  to  electrify  certain  minds  in  favour  of 
some  great  industrial  undertakings.  He  travels  as  agent  for 
several  French  commercial  houses  who  have  associated,  he  says,  to 
carry  into  effect  these  important  objects ;  but  his  head,  although 
full  of  grave  commercial  ideas,  finds  place,  nevertheless,  for  all 
the  songs  and  bon  mots  that  have  been  popular  in  Paris  for  the 
last  twenty  years.  Before  turning  merchant  he  had  been  a  lancer, 
and  he  has  preserved,  in  his  air  and  attitudes,  some  amusing 
traces  of  his  former  profession.  He  never  speaks  of  the  Russians 
without  alluding  to  French  superiority  in  matters  of  every  de- 
scription ,  but  his  vanity  is  too  palpable  to  become  offensive,  or 
to  excite  any  thing  beyond  a  laugh. 

When  singing,  he  casts  tender  glances  upon  the  ladies ;  when 
declaiming  the  Parisienne  or  the  Marseillaise  he  folds  his  cloak 
around  him  with  a  theatrical  air ;  his  store  of  songs  and  sayings, 
although  rather  jovial  in  character,  much  amuses  our  fair  strangers. 
In  listening  to  him  they  seem  to  believe  they  are  on  a  visit  to 
Paris.  The  mauvais  ton  of  this  specimen  of  French  manners  by 
no  means  strikes  them,  because  they  do  not  comprehend  its 
source  or  its  scope;  a  language  which  they  cannot  understand 
cannot  disgust  them ;  besides,  persons  belonging  to  really  good 
society  are  always  the  last  to  be  annoyed  or  alarmed.  The  fear 
of  being  lowered  in  position  does  not  oblige  them  to  take  offence 
at  every  thing  that  is  said. 


AGREEABLE    SOCIETY    ON    STEAM-BOAT.  25 

The  old  Prince  K and  myself  laugh  between  ourselves 

at  the  language  to  which  they  listen ;  they  laugh  on  their  part 
with  the  innocence  of  an  ignorance  unacquainced  with  the  point 
at  which  good  taste  ceases  and  French  vulgarity  begins. 

Vulgaity  commences  as  soon  as  the  individual  thinks  of  avoid- 
ing it :  such  a  thought  never  occurs  to  persons  perfectly  sure  of 
their  own  good  breeding. 

When  the  gaiety  of  the  ex-lancer  becomes  rather  too  exube- 
rant, the  Russian  ladies  moderate  it  by  singing,  in  their  turn, 
some  of  those  national  airs  of  which  the  melancholy  and  origin- 
ality greatly  charm  me. 

The  Princess  L has  sung  to  us  some  airs  of  the  Russian 

gipsies,  which,  to  my  great  surprise,  bring  the  Spanish  boleros  to 
my  mind.  The  Gitanos  of  Andalusia  are  of  the  same  race  as  the 
Russian  gipsies.  This  population  dispersed,  one  knows  not  by 
what  agency,  throughout  all  Europe,  has  preserved,  in  every 
region,  its  manners,  its  traditions,  and  its  national  songs. 

The  sea  voyage,  so  much  dreaded  in  prospect,  has  proved  so 
agreeable  that  I  look  forward  to  its  termination  with  real  regret. 
Besides,  who  does  not  feel  some  sense  of  desolation  in  arriving 
in  a  large  city,  where  one  has  no  business  and  no  friends.  My 
passion  for  travel  cools  when  I  consider  that  it  consists  entirely 
of  departures  and  arrivals.  But  what  pleasures  and  advantages 
do  we  not  purchase  by  this  pain  !  Were  it  only  that  we  can  by 
this  means  obtain  information  without  laborious  study,  it  would 
be  well  thus  to  turn  over,  as  the  leaves  of  a  book,  the  different 
countries  of  the  earth. 

When  I  feel  myself  discouraged  in  the  midst  of  my  pilgrim- 
ages, I  say  to  myself,  "  If  I  wish  for  the  result,  I  must  take  the 
means,"  and  under  this  thought  I  persevere.  I  do  more  : — 
scarcely  am  I  again  in  my  own  abode,  when  I  think  of  recom- 
mencing my  travels.  Perpetual  travel  would  be  a  delightful  way 
of  passing  life,  especially  for  one  who  cannot  conform  to  the  ideas 
that  govern  the  world  in  the  age  in  which  he  lives.  To  change 
one's  country  is  tantamount  to  changing  one's  century.  It  is  a 
long  by-gone  age  which  I  now  hope  to  study  in  Russia. 

Never  do  I  recollect  having  met,  in  travelling,  with  society 
so  agreeable  and  amusing  as  in  this  passage.  Our  life  here  is 
like  life  in  the  country  in  wet  weather ;  we  cannot  get  out,  but 
all  task  themselves  to  amuse  the  others,  so  that  the  efibrt  of  each 
turns  to  the  benefit  of  all.  This  however  must  be  ascribed  to  the 
perfect  sociability  of  some  of  our  passengers,  and  more  especially 
to  the  amiable  authority  of  Prince  K.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
part  he  took  at  the  commencement  of  our  voyage,  no  one  would 


26  STEAM-BOAT    ACCIDENT. 

have  broken  the  ice,  and  we  should  have  continued  observing  one 
another  in  silence  during  the  whole  passage.  Instead  of  such  a 
melancholy  isolation,  we  talk  and  chatter  night  and  day.  The 
light  lasting  during  the  whole  twenty  four  hours,  has  the  effect 
of  so  deranging  habits,  that  there  are  always  some  ready  for  con- 
versation at  any  hour.  It  is  now  past*  three  o'clock,  and  as  I 
write,  I  hear  my  companions  laughing  and  talking  in  the  cabin  ; 
if  I  were  to  go  down,  they  would  ask  me  to  recite  some  French 
verses,  or  to  tell  some  story  about  Paris.  They  never  tire  of 
asking  about  Mademoiselle  Rachel  or  Duprez,  the  two  great  dra- 
matic stars  of  the  day.  They  long  to  draw  to  their  own  country 
the  celebrated  talents  which  they  cannot  obtain  permission  to 
come  and  see  amongst  us. 

When  the  French  lancer,  the  mercantile  militaire,  joins  in 
the  conversation,  it  is  generally  to  interrupt  it.  There  is  then 
sure  to  be  laughter,  singing,  and  Russian  dances. 

This  gaiety,  innocent  as  it  is,  has  proved  offensive  to  two 
Americans  going  to  Petersburg  on  business.  These  inhabitants 
of  the  New  World  do  not  permit  themselves  even  a  smile  at  the 
foolish  pleasures  of  the  young  European  women.  They  do  not 
perceive  that  liberty  and  carelessness  are  the  safeguards  of  youth- 
ful hearts.  Their  puritanisrn  rebels  not  only  against  license,  but 
against  mirth  ;  they  are  Jansenists  of  the  Protestant  school ;  to 
please  them,  life  must  be  made  one  protracted  funeral.  Happily, 
the  ladies  we  have  on  board  do  not  trouble  themselves  to  render 
any  reason  to  these  pedantic  merchants.  Their  manners  are 
more  simple  than  most  of  the  women  of  the  North,  who,  when 
they  come  to  Paris,  believe  themselves  obliged  to  distort  their 
whole  nature  in  order  to  seduce  us.  Our  fair  fellow-passengers 
please  without  seeming  to  think  of  pleasing  ;  their  French  accent 
also  appears  to  me  better  than  that  of  most  of  the  Polish  women 
whom  I  have  met  in  Saxony  and  Bohemia.  In  speaking  our  lan- 
guage they  do  not  pretend  to  correct  it,  but  endeavour  to  speak  as 
we  speak,  and  very  nearly  succeed. 

Yesterday,  a  slight  accident  which  happened  to  our  engine, 
served  to  exhibit  some  of  the  secret  traits  of  character  in  those 
on  board. 

The  recollection  of  the  former  accident  that  befell  our  boat 
has  had  the  effect  of  making  the  passengers  rather  timid  and  dis- 
trustful, though  the  weather  has  remained  throughout  extremely 
fine. 

Yesterday  after  dinner,  we  were  seated  reading,  when  sud- 
denly the  motion  of  the  paddles  stopped,  and  an  unusual  noise 


STEAM-BOAT    ACCIDENT.  2*7 

was  heard  to  proceed  from  the  engine.  The  sailors  rushed  for- 
ward ;  the  captain  followed,  without  saying  a  word  in  reply  to 
the  questions  of  the  passengers.  At  length  he  gave  the  order  to 
sound.  "  We  are  on  a  rock,"  said  a  female  voice,  the  first  that 
had  dared  to  break  our  solemn  silence.  "  The  engine  is  going 
to  burst,"  exclaimed  another. 

I  was  silent,  though  I  began  to  think  that  my  presentiments 
were  going  to  be  realized,  and  that  it  was  not,  after  all,  caprice 
which  had  inclined  me  to  renounce  this  voyage. 

The  Princess  L ,  whose  health  is  delicate,  fell  into  a 

swoon,  murmuring  some  broken  words  of  grief  that  she  should 

die  so  far  from  her  husband:  The  Princess  D pressed  the 

arm  of  hers,  and  awaited  the  result  with  a  calm,  which  one  would 
not  have  expected  from  her  slight,  frail  form  and  gentle  features. 

The  fat  and  amiable  Prince  K neither  changed  his  coun- 
tenance nor  his  place  ;  he  would  have  sunk  in  his  arm-chair  into 
the  sea  without  disturbing  himself.  The  French  ex-lancer,  half 
merchant,  half  comedian,  put  on  a  bold  face,  arid  began  to  hum  a 
song.  This  bravado  displeased  me,  and  made  me  blush  for 
France,  where  vanity  searches  out  of  all  things  to  extract  some 
opportunity  for  display ;  true  moral  dignity  exaggerates  nothing, 
not  even  indifference  to  danger;  the  Americans  continued  their 
reading  ;  I  obse^ed  every  body. 

At  length  the  captain  came  to  inform  us  that  the  nut  of  the 
screw  of  one  of  the  pistons  was  broken,  and  that  all  would  be 
made  right  again  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour. 

At  this  news,  the  apprehensions  that  each  party  had  more  or 
less  concealed  betrayed  themselves  by  a  general  explosion  of  re- 
joicing. Each  confessed  his  thoughts  and  fears,  all  laughed  at 
one  another,  and  those  who  were  the  most  candid  in  their  confes- 
sions were  the  least  laughed  at.  The  evening  that  had  com- 
menced so  ominously  concluded  with  dance  and  song. 

Before  separating  for  the  night,  Prince  K complimented 

me  for  my  good  manners  in  listening  with  apparent  pleasure  to  his 
stories.  One  may  recognize  the  well-bred  man,  he  observed,  by 
the  manner  he  assumes  in  listening  to  another.  I  replied  that 
the  best  way  by  which  to  seem  to  be  listening,  was  to  listen. 
This  answer,  repeated  by  the  prince,  was  lauded  beyond  its 
merit.  Nothing  is  lost,  and  every  thought  is  done  more  than 
justice  to  by  persons  whose  benevolence  even  is  intellectual. 


28  MARRIAGE    OF    PETER    THE    GREAT. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Marriage  of  Peter  the  Great.— Romodanowski.—  Influence  of  the  Greek  Church  in  Russia.— 
Tyranny  supported  by  Falsehood.— Corpse  in  the  Church  of  Revel.— The  Emperor  Alex- 
ander deceived.— Russian  Sensitiveness  to  the  Opinions  of  Foreigners.— A  Spy. 

TAKING  my  arm,  Prince  K begged  me  to  assist  him  to  his 

state-room,  where,  offering  me  a  seat,  he  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  As 
we  are  alone,  I  will  recount  to  you  a  story : — it  is  to  you  alone 
that  I  relate  it,  because  before  Russians  one  must  not  talk  of 
history. 

"  You  know  that  Peter  the  Great,  after  much  hesitation,  de- 
stroyed the  patriarchate  of  Moscow,  in  order  to  unite,  on  the 
same  head,  the  crown  and  the  tiara.  The  political  autocracy 
thus  openly  usurped  that  unlimited  spiritual  power  which  it  had 
coveted  for  so  long — a  monstrous  union,  unknown  before  among 
the  nations  of  modern  Europe.  The  chimera  entertained  by  the 
popes  during  the  middle  ages  is  now  actually  realized  in  a  nation 
of  sixty  millions  of  people,  many  of  them  Asiatics,  whom  nothing 
surprises,  and  who  are  by  no  means  sorry  to  find  a  grand  Lama 
in  their  Czar. 

"  The  Emperor  Peter  sought  to  unite  himself  in  marriage 
with  Catherine,  the  sutler. 

"  To  accomplish  this  supreme  object  of  his  heart  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  begin  by  finding  a  family  name  for  the  future  empress. 
This  was  obtained  I  believe  in  Lithuania,  where  an  obscure  pri- 
vate gentleman  was  first  converted  into  a  great  lord  by  birth,  and 
afterwards  discovered  to  be  the  brother  of  the  empress  elect. 

"  Russian  despotism  not  only  pays  little  respect  to  ideas  and 
sentiments,  it  will  also  deny  facts ;  it  will  struggle  against  evi- 
dence, and  triumph  in  the  struggle ! ! !  for  evidence,  when  it  is 
inconvenient  to  power,  has  no  more  voice  among  us  than  has 
justice." 

The  bold  language  of  the  prince  startled  me.  He  had  been 
educated  at  Rome,  and,  like  ail  who  possess  any  piety  of  feeling 
and  independence  of  mind  in  Russia,  he  inclined  to  the  Catholic 
religion.  While  various  reflections,  suggested  by  his  discourse, 
were  passing  in  my  mind,  he  continued  his  philosophical  obser- 
vations. 

"  The  people,  and  even  the  great  men,  are  resigned  spectators 
of  this  war  against  truth ;  the  lies  of  the  despot,  however  palpa- 
ble, are  always  flattering  to  the  slave.  The  Russians,  who  bear 
so  much,  would  bear  no  tyranny  if  the  tyrant  did  not  carefully 


MARRIAGE    OF    PETER    THE    GREAT.  29 

act  as  though  he  believed  them  the  dupes  of  his  policy.  Human 
dignity,  immersed  and  sinking  in  the  gulf  of  absolute  govern- 
ment, seizes  hold  of  the  smallest  branch  within  reach  that  may 
serve  to  keep  it  afloat.  Human  nature  will  bear  much  scorn  and 
wrong ;  but  it  will  not  bear  to  be  told  in  direct  terms  that  it  is 
scorned  and  wronged.  When  outraged  by  deeds,  it  takes  refuge 
in  words.  Falsehood  is  so  abasing,  that  to  degrade  the  tyrant 
into  the  hypocrite  is  a  vengeance  which  consoles  the  victim. 
Miserable  and  last  illusion  of  misfortune,  which  must  yet  be 
respected,  lest  the  serf  should  become  still  more  vile,  and  the 
despot  still  more  outrageous  ! 

"  There  existed  an  ancient  custom  for  two  of  the  greatest 
noblemen  of  the  empire  to  walk  by  the  side  of  the  patriarch 
of  Moscow  in  solemn  public  processions. 

"  On  the  occasion  of  his  marriage,  the  Czarinian  pontiff  deter- 
mined to  choose  for  acolytes  in  the  bridal  possession,  on  one  side, 
a  famous  boyar,*  and  on  the  other,  the  new  brother-in-law  that 
he  had  created;  for  in  Russia,  sovereign  power  can  do  more  than 
create  nobles,  it  can  raise  up  relatives  for  those  that  are  without 
any  ;  with  us,  despotism  is  more  powerful  than  nature  ;  the  em- 
peror is  not  only  the  representative  of  God,  he  is  himself  the 
creative  power;  a  power  indeed  greater  than  that  of  Deity,  for  it 
only  extends  its  action  to  the  future,  whereas  the  emperor  alters 
and  amends  the  past :  the  law  has  no  retroactive  effect,  the 
caprice  of  a  despot  has. 

"  The  personage  whom  Peter  wished  to  associate  with  the  new 
brother  of  the  empress  was  the  highest  noble  in  Moscow,  and  next 
to  the  Czar,  the  greatest  individual  in  the  empire — his  name  was 
Prince  Romodanowski.  Peter  notified  to  him,  through  his  first 
minister,  that  he  was  to  attend  the  ceremony  in  order  to  walk  by 
the  emperor's  side — an  honour  which  he  would  share  with  the 
brother  of  the  empress. 

"  '  Very  well,'  replied  the  prince  ;  '  but  on  which  side  of  the 
Czar  am  I  expected  to  place  myself  ? ' 

"  '  My  dear  prince,'  replied  the  courtier,  '  how  can  you  ask 
such  a  question  ?  Of  course  the  brother-in-law  of  His  Majesty 
will  take  the  right.' 

"  '  I  shall  not  attend,  then,'  responded  the  haughty  boyar. 

"  This  answer  reported  to  the  Czar  provoked  a  second  mes- 
sage. 

"  '  You  shall  attend  ! '  was  the  mandate  of  the  tyrant ;  *  you 
shall  either  attend,  or  I  will  hang  you  !  ' 

*  The  title  of  o,  Russian  noble. 


30  ROMODANOWSKI. 

"  '  Say  to  the  Czar,'  replied  the  indomitable  Muscovite,  '  that  I 
entreat  him  first  to  execute  the  same  sentence  on  iny  only  son  : 
this  child  is  but  fifteen  years  old ;  it  is  possible  that,  after  having 
seen  me  perish,  fear  will  make  him  consent  to  walk  on  the  left 
hand  of  his  sovereign  ;  but  I  can  depend  on  myself,  both  before 
and  after  the  execution  of  my  child,  never  to  do  that  which  can 
disgrace  the  blood  of  Romodanowski.' 

"  The  Czar,  I  say  it  in  his  praise,  yielded  ;  but  to  revenge 
himself  on  the  independent  spirit  of  the  Muscovite  aristocracy, 
he  built  St.  Petersburg. 

"  Nicholas,"  added  Prince  K ,  "  would  not  have  acted  thus ; 

he  would  have  sent  the  boyar  and  his  son  to  the  mines,  and  have 
declared  by  an  ukase,  couched  in  legal  terms,  that  neither  the 
father  nor  the  son  could  have  children  ;  perhaps  he  would  have 
decreed  that  the  father  had  never  been  married  ;  such  things  still 
often  take  place  in  Russia,  the  best  proof  of  which  is  that  we  are 
forbidden  to  recount  them." 

Be  this  as  it  may,  the  pride  of  the  Muscovite  noble  gives  a 
perfect  idea  of  that  singular  combination  of  which  the  actual  state 
of  Russian  society  is  the  result.  A  monstrous  compound  of  the 
petty  refinements  of  Byzantium,  and  the  ferocity  of  the  desert 
horde,  a  struggle  between  the  etiquette  of  the  Lower  Empire, 
and  the  savage  virtues  of  Asia,  have  produced  the  mighty  state 
which  Europe  now  beholds,  and  the  influence  of  which  she  will 
probably  feel  hereafter,  without  being  able  to  understand  its 
operation. 

We  have  just  seen  an  instance  of  arbitrary  power  outbraved 
and  humiliated  by  the  aristocracy. 

This  fact,  and  many  others,  justify  me  in  maintaining  that  it 
is  an  aristocracy  which  constitutes  the  greatest  check  on  the  des- 
potism of  an  individual, — on  an  autocracy  ;  the  soul  of  aristo- 
cracy is  pride,  the  spirit  of  democracy  is  envy.  We  will  now  see 
how  easily  an  autocrat  may  be  deceived. 

This  morning  we  passed  Revel.  The  sight  of  that  place,  which 
has  not  long  been  Russian  territory,  recalled  to  our  memories 
the  proud  name  of  Caarles  XII.,  and  the  battle  of  Narva.  In 
this  battle  was  killed  a  Frenchman,  the  Prince  de  Croi',  who 
fought  under  the  King  of  Sweden.  His  body  was  carried  to 
Revel,  where  he  could  not  be  buried,  because,  during  the  cam- 
paign, he  had  contracted  debts  in  the  province,  and  had  left 
nothing  to  pay  them.  According  to  an  ancient  custom  of  the 
land,  his  body  was  placed  in  the  church  of  Revel  until  his  heirs 
should  satisfy  his  creditors.  This  corpse  is  still  in  the  same  church 


CORPSE    IN    THE    CHURCH    OF    REVEL.  31 

where  it  was  laid  more  than  one  hundred  years  ago.  The  amount 
of  the  original  debt  has  become  so  greatly  augmented  by  interest, 
and  by  the  daily  charge  made  for  the  keeping  of  the  corpse,  that 
there  are  few  fortunes  which  would  now  suffice  to  acquit  it. 

In  passing  through  Revel  about  twenty  years  since,  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  visited  the  church,  and  was  so  shocked  with  the 
hideous  spectacle  presented  by  the  corpse,  that  he  commanded  its 
immediate  interment.  On  the  morrow,  the  Emperor  departed, 
and  the  body  of  the  Prince  de  Croi  was  duly  carried  to  the  ce- 
metery. The  day  after,  it  was  brought  back  to  the  church,  and 
placed  in  its  former  position.  If  there  is  not  justice  in  Russia, 
there  are,  it  would  appear,  customs  more  powerful  even  than  the 
sovereign  will. 

What  most  amused  me  during  this  too  short  passage  was  to 
find  myself  constantly  obliged,  in  obedience  to  my  instinctive 
notions  of  equity,  to  justify  Russia  against  Prince  K 's  ob- 
servations. This  won  me  the  good  will  of  all  the  Russians  who 
heard  our  conversation.  The  sincerity  of  the  opinions  which  the 
amiable  prince  pronounces  on  his  country  at  least  proves  to  me 
that  in  Russia  there  are  some  who  may  speak  their  mind. 

When  I  remarked  this  to  him,  he  replied,  that  he  was  not  a 
Russian  !  !  Singular  assertion  !  However,  Russian  or  foreigner, 
he  says  what  he  thinks.  He  has  filled  the  most  important  poli- 
tical posts,  spent  two  fortunes,  worn  out  the  favour  of  several 
sovereigns,  and  is  now  old  and  infirm,  but  especially  protected 
by  a  member  of  the  Imperial  family,  who  loves  wit  too  well  to  fear 
it.  Besides,  in  order  to  escape  Siberia,  he  pretends  that  he  is 
writing  memoirs,  and  that  he  has  deposited  the  finished  volumes 
in  France.  The  Emperor  dreads  publicity  as  much  as  Russia 
dreads  the  Emperor. 

I  am  much  struck  by  the  extreme  susceptibility  of  the  Rus- 
sians as  regards  the  judgment  which  strangers  may  form  respect- 
ing them.  The  impression  which  their  country  may  make  on 
the  minds  of  travellers  occupies  their  thoughts  incessantly.  What 
would  be  said  of  the  Germans,  the  English,  and  the  French,  if 
they  indulged  themselves  in  such  puerility  ?  If  the  satires  of 

Prince  K are  disagreeable  to  his  countrymen,  it  is  not  so 

much  because  their  own  feelings  are  wounded,  as  on  account  of 
the  influence  these  satires  may  have  upon  me,  who  am  become 
an  important  person  in  their  eyes  since  they  have  heard  that  I 
write  my  travels. 

"  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  be  prejudiced  against  Russia  by 
this  unpatriotic  Russian ;  do  not  write  under  the  influence  of  his 


32  A    SPY. 

statements;  it  is  from  a  wish  to  display  his  French  wit  at  our 
expense  that  he  thus  speaks,  but  in  reality  he  has  no  such 
opinion." 

This  is  the  kind  of  language  that  is  addressed  to  me,  pri- 
vately, a  dozen  times  a  day.  It  seems  to  me  as  though  the  Rus- 
sians would  be  content  to  become  even  yet  worse  and  more  bar- 
barous than  they  are,  provided  they  were  thought  better  and  more 
civilized.  I  do  not  admire  minds  which  hold  the  truth  thus 
cheaply.  Civilization  is  not  a  fashion  or  an  artificial  device,  it  is 
a  power  which  has  its  result — a  root  which  sends  forth  its  stalk, 
produces  its  flowers,  and  bears  its  fruit. 

'•  At  least  you  will  not  call  us  the  barbarians  of  the  North, 
as  your  countrymen  do."  This  is  said  to  me  every  time  I  ap- 
pear pleased  by  any  interesting  recital,  national  melody,  or 
noble  or  poetic  sentiment  ascribed  to  a  Russian.  I  reply  to  these 
fears  by  some  unimportant  compliment ;  but  I  think  in  my  own 
mind  that  I  could  better  love  the  barbarians  of  the  North  than 
the  apes  who  are  ever  imitating  the  South. 

There  are  remedies  for  primitive  barbarism,  there  are  none 
for  the  mania  of  appearing  what  one  is  not. 

A  kind  of  Russian  savant,  a  grammarian,  a  translator  of  va- 
rious German  works,  and  a  professor  of  I  know  not  which  college, 
has  made  as  many  advances  towards  me  as  he  could  during  this 
passage.  He  has  been  travelling  through  Europe,  and  returns 
to  Russia  full  of  zeal,  he  says,  to  propagate  there  all  that  is  valu- 
able in  the  modern  opinions  of  Western  Europe.  The  freedom 
of  his  discourse  appeared  to  me  suspicious  :  it  was  not  that  lux- 
ury of  independence  observable  in  Prince  K ;  it  was  a 

studied  liberalism,  calculated  to  draw  out  the  views  of  others. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  there  may  be  always  found  some  savant 
of  this  kind,  on  the  ordinary  lines  of  route  to  Russia,  in  the  ho- 
tels of  Lubeck,  the  steam-boats,  and  even  at  Havre,  which,  thanks 
to  the  navigation  of  the  German  and  Baltic  seas,  has  become  the 
Muscovite  frontier. 

The  individual  in  question  extracted  from  me  very  little.  He 
was  specially  desirous  of  learning  whether  I  should  write  my  tra- 
vels, and  obligingly  offered  me  the  lights  of  his  experience.  He 
left  me  at  last,  thoroughly  persuaded  that  I  travelled  only  to 
divert  myself,  and  without  any  intention  of  publishing  the  rela- 
tion of  a  tour  which  would  be  performed  very  rapidly.  This 
appeared  to  satisfy  him ;  but  his  inquietude,  thus  allayed,  has 
awaked  my  own.  If  I  write  this  journey  I  must  expect  to  give 
umbrage  to  a  government  more  artful  and  better  served  with 


THE    RUSSIAN    MARINE.  33 

spies  than  any  other  in  the  world.  This  is  an  unpleasant  idea. 
I  must  conceal  my  letters,  I  must  be  guarded  in  my  language  ; 
but  I  will  affect  nothing ;  the  most  consummate  deception  is  that 
which  wears  no  mask. 


CHAPTER   V. 

The  Russian  Marine.— Remark  of  Lord  Durham's.— Great  efforts  for  small  Results— The 
amusements  of  Despotism. — Kronstadt.—  Russian  Custom-House. —  Gloomy  aspect  of  Na- 
ture—Recollections  of  Rome.— English  poetical  Name  for  Ships  of  War. — Object  of  Peter 
the  Great.— The  Finns.— Batteries  of  Kronstadt.— Abject  Character  of  the  Lower  Classes 
of  Russian  Employes.— Inquisitions  of  the  Police,  and  the  Custom-House.— Sudden  Change 
in  the  manners  of  Fellow-Travellers  — Fickleness  of  Northern  People. 

As  we  approached  Kronstadt — a  sub-marine  fortress  of  which  the 
Russians  are  justly  proud — the  Gulf  of  Finland  suddenly 
assumed  an  animated  appearance.  The  imperial  fleet  was  in 
motion,  and  surrounded  us  on  all  sides.  It  remains  in  port,  ice- 
locked  for  more  than  six  months  in  the  year ;  but  during  the  three 
months  of  summer,  the  marine  cadets  are  exercised  in  nautical 
manoeuvres  between  St.  Petersburg  and  the  Baltic.  After  pass- 
ing the  fleet,  we  again  sailed  on  almost  a  desert  sea ;  now  and 
then  only  enlivened  by  the  distant  apparition  of  some  merchant 
vessel,  or  the  yet  more  infrequent  smoke  of  a  pyroscaph,  as  steam- 
boats are  learnedly  called  in  the  nautical  language  of  some  parts 
of  Europe. 

The  Baltic  Sea,  by  the  dull  hues  of  its  unfrequented  waters, 
proclaims  the  vicinity  of  a  continent  depopulated  under  the 
rigours  of  the  climate.  The  barren  shores  harmonize  with  the 
cold  aspect  of  the  sky  and  water,  and  chill  the  heart  of  the 
traveller. 

No  sooner  does  he  arrive  on  this  unattractive  coast,  than  he 
longs  to  leave  it  •  he  calls  to  mind,  with  a  sigh,  the  remark  of 
one  of  Catherine's  favourites,  who,  when  the  Empress  complained 
of  the  effects  of  the  climate  of  Petersburg  upon  her  health, 
observed,  "  It  is  not  God  who  should  be  blamed,  madame,  be- 
cause men  have  persisted  in  building  the  capital  of  a  great  empire 
in  a  territory  destined  by  nature  to  be  the  patrimony  of  wolves 
und  bears." 

My  travelling  companions  have  been  explaining  to  me.  with 

much  self-satisfaction,  the  recent  progress  of  the  Russian  marine. 

I  admire  the  prodigy  without  magnifying  it  as  they  do.     It  is  a 

creation,  or  rather  a  re-creation  of  the  present  emperor's.     This 

2* 


84  THE    RUSSIAN    MARINE. 

prince  amuses  himself  by  endeavouring  to  realize  the  favourite 
object  of  Peter  I. ;  but  however  powerful  a  man  may  be,  he  is 
forced,  sooner  or  later,  to  acknowledge  that  nature  is  more  pow- 
erful still.  So  long  as  Russia  shall  keep  within  her  natural 
limits,  the  Russian  navy  will  continue  the  hobby  of  the  emperors, 
and  nothing  more. 

During  the  season  of  naval  exercises,  I  am  informed  that  the 
younger  pupils  remain  performing  their  evolutions  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Kronstadt,  while  the  more  advanced  extend  their 
voyages  of  discovery  as  far  as  Riga,  and  sometimes  even  to  Co- 
penhagen. 

As  soon  as  I  found  that  the  sole  object  of  all  this  display  of 
naval  power,  which  passed  before  my  eyes,  was  the  instruction  of 
pupils,  a  secret  feeling  of  ennui  extinguished  my  curiosity. 

All  this  unnecessary  preparation,  which  is  neither  the  result 
of  commerce  nor  of  war,  appears  to  me  a  mere  parade.  Now, 
God  knows,  and  the  Russians  know,  whether  there  is  any  pleasure 
in  a  parade  !  The  taste  for  reviews  in  Russia  is  carried  beyond 
all  bounds,  and  here,  before  even  landing  in  this  empire  of  mil- 
itary evolutions,  I  must  be  present  at  a  review  on  the  water. 
But  I  must  not  laugh  at  this.  Puerility  on  a  grand  scale  is  a 
monstrous  thing,  impossible  except  under  a  tyranny,  of  which  it 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  terrible  result !  Every  where,  except  under 
an  absolute  despotism,  men,  when  they  make  great  efforts,  have 
in  view  great  ends ;  it  is  only  among  a  blindly  abject  people  that 
the  monarch  may  command  immense  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of 
trifling  results. 

The  view  of  the  naval  power  of  Russia,  gathered  together 
for  the  amusement  of  the  Czar,  at  the  gate  of  his  capital,  has 
thus  caused  me  only  a  painful  impression.  The  vessels,  which 
will  be  inevitably  lost  in  a  few  winters,  "without  having  rendered 
any  service,  suggest  to  my  mind  images — not  of  the  power  of  a 
great  country,  but  of  the  useless  toils  to  which  the  poor,  unfor- 
tunate seamen  are  condemned.  The  ice  is  a  more  terrible  enemy 
to  this  navy  than  foreign  war.  Every  autumn,  after  the  three 
months'  exercise,  the  pupil  returns  to  his  prison,  the  plaything 
to  its  box,  and  the  frost  begins  to  wage  its  more  serious  war  upon 
the  imperial  finances.  Lord  Durham  once  remarked  to  the  Em- 
peror himself,  with  a  freedom  of  speech  which  wounded  him  in 
the  most  sensitive  part,  that  the  Russian  ships  of  war  were  but 
the  playthings  of  the  Russian  .sovereign. 

As  regards  myself,  this  childish  Colossus  by  no  means  predis- 
poses me  to  admire  what  I  may  expect  to  see  in  the  interior  of 


KRONSTADT.  35 

the  empire.  To  admire  Russia  in  approaching  it  by  water,  it  is 
necessary  to  forget  the  approach  to  England  by  the  Thames. 
This  first  is  the  image  of  death,  the  last  of  life. 

On  dropping  anchor  before  Kronstadt,  we  learned  that  one  of 
the  noble  vessels  we  had  seen  manoeuvreing  around  us  had  just 
been  lost  on  a  sand  bank.  This  shipwreck  was  dangerous  only 
to  the  captain,  who  expected  to  be  cashiered,  and,  perhaps,  pun- 
ished yet  more  severely.  Prince  K said  to  me  privately,  that 

he  would  have  done  better  to  have  perished  with  his  vessel.  Our 

fellow-traveller,  the  Princess  L .  had  a  son  attached  to  the 

unlucky  ship.  She  was  placed  in  a  situation  of  painful  suspense, 
until  news  of  his  safety  was  brought  to  her  by  the  governor  of 
Kronstadt. 

The  Russians  are  incessantly  repeating  to  me  that  it  is  requi- 
site to  spend  at  least  two  years  in  their  country  before  passing  a 
judgment  upon  it ;  so  difficult  is  it  to  understand. 

But  though  patience  and  prudence  may  be  necessary  virtues 
in  those  learned  travellers  who  aspire  to  the  glory  of  producing 
erudite  volumes,  I,  who  have  been  hitherto  writing  only  for  my 
friend  and  myself,  have  no  intention  of  making  my  journal  a 
work  of  labour.  I  have  some  fear  of  the  Russian  custom-house  ; 
but  they  assure  me  that  my  tcritoire  will  be  respected. 

Nothing  can  be  more  melancholy  than  the  aspect  of  nature  in 
the  approach  to  St.  Petersburg.  As  you  advance  up  the  G-ulf, 
the  flat  marshes  of  Ingria  terminate  in  a  little  wavering  line  drawn 
between  the  sky  and  the  sea  ;  this  line  is  Russia.  It  presents 
the  appearance  of  a  wet  lowland,  with  here  and  there  a  few  birch 
trees  thinly  scattered.  The  landscape  is  void  of  objects  and 
colours,  has  no  bounds  and  yet  no  sublimity.  It  has  just  light 
enough  to  be  visible ;  the  grey  mossy  earth  well  accords  with 
the  pale  sun  which  illumines  it,  not  from  overhead,  but  from 
near  the  horizon,  or  almost  indeed  from  below, — so  acute  is  the 
angle  which  the  oblique  rays  form  with  the  surface  of  this  unfa- 
voured soil.  In  Russia,  the  finest  days  have  a  bluish  dimness. 
If  the  nights  are  marked  by  a  clearness  which  surprises,  the  days 
are  clothed  with  an  obscurity  which  saddens. 

Kronstadt,  with  its  forest  of  masts,  its  substructures,  and  its 
ramparts  of  granite,  finely  breaks  the  monotonous  reveries  of  the 
pilgrim,  who  is,  like  me,  seeking  for  imagery  in  this  dreary  land. 
I  have  never  seen,  in  the  approaches  to  any  other  great  city,  a 
landscape  so  melancholy  as  the  banks  of  the  Neva.  The  cam- 
2)agna  of  Rome  is  a  desert,  but  what  picturesque  objects,  what 
past  associations,  what  light,  what  fire,  what  poetry,  if  I  might  be 


36  APPROACH    TO    ST.    PETERSBURG. 

allowed  the  expression,  I  would  say,  what  passion  animates  that 
religious  land  !  To  reach  St.  Petersburg,  you  must  pass  a  desert 
of  water  framed  in  a  desert  of  peat  earth ;  sea,  shore,  and  sky, 
are  all  blended  into  one  mirror,  but  so  dull,  so  tarnished,  that  it 
reflects  nothing. 

The  thought  of  the  noble  vessels  of  the  Russian  navy,  des- 
tined to  perish  without  ever  having  been  in  action,  pursues  me 
like  a  dream. 

The  English,  in  their  idiom,  which  is  so  poetical  when  it  re- 
lates to  maritime  objects,  call  a  vessel  of  the  royal  navy  a  man 
of  war.  Never  will  the  Russians  be  thus  able  to  designate  their 
ships  of  parade.  These  men  of  court,  or  wooden  courtiers,  are 
nothing  more  than  the  hospital  of  the  imperial  service.  If  the 
sight  of  so  useless  a  marine  inspired  me  with  any  fear,  it  was  not 
the  fear  of  war  but  of  tyranny.  It  recalled  to  my  mind  the  in- 
humanities of  Peter  I.,  that  type  of  all  Russian  monarchs  ancient 
and  modern. 

Some  miserable  boats,  manned  by  fishermen  as  dirty  as  Es- 
quimaux, a  few  vessels  employed  in  towing  timber  for  the  con- 
struction of  the  imperial  navy,  and  a  few  steam-boats,  mostly  of 
foreign  build,  were  the  only  objects  that  enlivened  the  scene. 
Such  is  the  approach  to  St.  Petersburg  :  all  that  could  have  in- 
fluenced against  the  choice  of  this  site,  so  contrary  to  the  views 
of  nature  or  to  the  real  wants  of  a  great  people,  must  have  passed 
before  the  mind  of  Peter  the  Great  without  moving  him.  The 
sea,  at  any  cost,  was  the  monarch's  sentiment.  How  strange  an 
idea  in  a  Russian  to  found  the  capital  of  the  empire  of  the  Scla- 
vonians  in  the  midst  of  the  Finns,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Swedes  !  Peter  the  Great  might  say  that  his  only  object  was 
to  give  a  port  to  Russia ;  but  if  he  had  the  genius  which  is  as- 
cribed to  him,  he  must  have  foreseen  the  scope  of  his  work;  and 
in  my  opinion  he  did  foresee  it.  Policy,  and,  I  fear,  the  revenge 
of  imperial  self-love,  wounded  by  the  independence  of  the  old 
Muscovites,  have  created  the  destinies  of  modern  Russia. 

Russia  is  like  a  vigorous  person  suffocating  for  want  of  ex- 
ternal air.  Peter  I.  promised  it  an  outlet,  but  without  perceiv- 
ing that  a  sea  necessarily  closed  during  eight  months  in  the  year 
is  not  like  other  seas.  Names,  however,  are  every  thing  in  Rus- 
sia. The  efforts  of  Peter,  his  subjects,  and  successors,  extraor- 
dinary as  they  are,  have  only  served  to  create  a  city  which  it  is 
difficult  to  inhabit;  with  which  the  Neva  disputes  the  soil  when- 
ever the  wind  blows  from  the  Gu  f,  a  d  from  which  the  people 
think  of  flying  altogether  at  each  step  that  this  war  of  elements 


BATTERIES    OF    KRONSTADT.  37 

compels  them  to  take  towards  the  south.  For  a  bivouac  quays 
of  granite  are  superfluous. 

The  Finns,  among  whom  the  Russians  fixed  their  new  capital, 
are  of  Scythian  origin ;  they  are  still  almost  Pagans — suitable 
inhabitants  of  the  soil  of  Petersburg.  It  was  only  in  1836  that 
an  ukase  appeared,  commanding  their  priests  to  add  a  family 
name  to  the  saint's  name  given  to  their  children  in  baptism. 

This  race  is  almost  without  physiognomy.  The  middle  of 
the  face  is  flattened  to  a  degree  that  renders  it  deformed.  The 
men,  though  ugly  and  dirty,  are  said  to  be  strong,  which,  how- 
ever, does  not  prevent  their  being  poor.  Although  the  natives 
of  the  territory,  they  are  seldom  seen  in  Petersburg  except  upon 
market  days.  They  inhabit  the  swamps,  and  slightly  elevated 
granite  hills  of  the  environs. 

Kronstadt  is  a  very  flat  island  in  the  middle  of  the  Gulf  of 
Finland  :  this  aquatic  fortress  is  raised  above  the  sea  only  just 
sufficiently  to  defend  the  navigation  to  St.  Petersburg.  Its  foun- 
dations and  many  of  its  works  are  under  water.  Its  guns  are 
disposed,  according  to  the  Russians,  with  great  skill,  and  by  vir- 
tue of  the  shower  of  ball  that  an  order  of  the  Emperor's  could 
here  pour  upon  an  enemy,  the  place  passes  for  impregnable.  I 
am  not  aware  whether  these  guns  command  both  the  passages  of 
the  Gulf;  the  Russians  who  could  have  informed  me,  would  not. 
My  experience,  although  of  recent  date,  has  already  taught  me 
to  distrust  the  rodomontades  and  exaggerations  in  which  the 
subjects  of  the  Czar,  inspired  by  an  excess  of  zeal  in  the  service 
of  their  master,  indulge.  National  pride  appears  to  me  to  be 
tolerable  only  among  a  free  people. 

We  arrived  at  Kronstadt  about  the  dawning  of  one  of  those 
days  without  real  beginning  or  end,  which  I  am  tired  of  describ- 
ing though  not  of  admiring. 

After  casting  anchor  before  the  silent  fortress,  we  had  to  wait 
a  long  time  for  the  arrival  of  a  host  of  official  personages,  who 
boarded  us  one  after  the  other ;  commissaries  of  police,  directors 
and  sub-directors  of  the  Customs,  and  finally  the  Comptroller 
himself.  This  important  personage  considered  himself  obliged 
to  pay  us  a  visit  on  account  of  the  illustrious  Russian  passengers 
on  board.  He  conversed  for  a  long  time  with  the  returned 
princes  and  princesses.  They  talked  in  Russian,  probably  be- 
cause the  politics  of  the  West  were  the  subject  of  their  discourse ; 
but  when  the  conversation  fell  on  the  troubles  of  landing  and  the 
necessity  of  leaving  our  carriages  at  Kroustadt,  French  was  freely 
spoken. 

The  Travemunde  packet  draws  too  much  water  to  ascend  the 


38  ABJECT    CHARACTER    OF    RUSSIAN    EMPLOYES. 

Neva;  the  passengers,  therefore,  have  to  proceed  by  a  smaller 
steamer,  which  is  dirty  and  ill-constructed.  We  are  allowed  to 
carry  with  us  our  lighter  baggage,  after  it  has  been  examined  by 
the  officers.  When  this  formality  is  concluded,  we  leave  for 
Petersburg,  with  the  hope  that  our  carriages,  left  in  the  charge 
of  these  people,  may  arrive  safely  on  the  morrow. 

The  Russian  princes  were  obliged,  like  myself,  to  submit  to 
the  laws  of  the  custom-house,  but  on  arriving  at  Petersburg  I 
had  the  mortification  of  seeing  them  released  in  three  minutes, 
whilst  I  had  to  struggle  with  every  species  of  trickery  for  the 
space  of  three  hours. 

A  multitude  of  little  superfluous  precautions  engender  here  a 
population  of  deputies  and  sub-officials,  each  of  whom  acquits 
himself  with  an  air  of  importance  and  a  rigorous  precision,  which 
seems  to  say,  though  every  thing  is  done  'with  much  silence, 
u  Make  way,  lam  one  of  the  members  of  the  grand  machine  of  state." 

Such  members,  acting  under  an  influence  which  is  not  in  them- 
selves, in  a  manner  resembling  the  wheel-work  of  a  clock,  are 
called  men  in  Russia !  The  sight  of  these  voluntary  automata 
inspires  me  with  a  kind  of  fear  :  there  is  something  supernatural 
in  an  individual  reduced  to  the  state  of  a  mere  machine.  If,  in 
lands  where  the  mechanical  arts  flourish,  wood  and  metal  seem 
endowed  with  human  powers,  under  despotisms,  human  beings 
seem  to  become  as  instruments  of  wood.  We  ask  ourselves, 
what  can  become  of  their  superfluity  of  thought  ?  and  we  feel  ill 
at  ease  at  the  idea  of  the  influence  that  must  have  been  exerted 
on  intellectual  creatures  before  they  could  have  been  reduced  to 
mere  things.  In  Russia  I  pity  the  human  beings,  as  in  Eng- 
land I  feared  the  machines ;  in  the  latter  country,  the  creations 
of  man  lack  nothing  but  the  gift  of  speech ;  here,  the  gift  of 
speech  is  a  thing  superfluous  to  the  creatures  of  the  state. 

These  machines,  clogged  with  the  inconvenience  of  a  soul,  are, 
however,  marvellously  polite ;  it  is  easy  to  see  they  have  been 
trained  to  civility,  as  to  the  management  of  arms,  from  their 
cradle.  But  of  what  value  are  the  forms  of  urbanity  when  their 
origin  savours  of  compulsion  ?  The  free-will  of  man  is  the  con- 
secration that  can  alone  impart  a  worth  or  a  meaning  to  human 
actions ;  the  power  of  choosing  a  master  can  alone  give  a  value 
to  fidelity  ;  and  since,  in  Russia,  an  inferior  chooses  nothing,  all 
that  he  says  and  does  is  worthless  and  unmeaning. 

The  numerous  questions  I  had  to  meet,  and  the  precaution- 
ary forms  that  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through,  warned  me  that 
I  was  entering  the  empire  of  Fear,  and  depressed  my  spirits. 

I  was  obVj-.-J  co  appear  before  an  Areopagus  of  deputies  who 


INQUISITIONS    OF    THE    POLICE.  39 

had  assembled  to  interrogate  the  passengers.  The  members  of 
this  formidable  rather  than  imposing  tribunal  were  seated  before 
a  large  table  ;  some  of  them  were  turning  over  the  leaves  of  the 
register  with  an  attention  which  had  a  sinister  appearance,  for 
their  ostensible  employ  was  not  sufficient  to  account  for  so  much 
gravity. 

Some,  with  pen  in  hand,  listened  to  the  replies  of  the  passen- 
gers, or  rather  the  accused,  for  every  stranger  is  treated  as  cul- 
pable on  arriving  at  the  Russian  frontier.  All  the  answers  were 
carefully  written  down,  and  the  passports  minutely  examined  and 
detained,  under  the  promise  that  they  would  be  returned  at 
Petersburg. 

These  formalities  being  satisfied,  we  proceeded  on  board  the 
new  steam-boat.  Hour  after  hour  elapsed,  and  still  there  was  no 
talk  of  starting.  Every  moment  fresh  boats  proceeded  from  the 
city,  and  rowed  towards  us  Although  we  were  moored  close  to 
the  walls,  the  silence  was  profound.  No  voice  issued  from  this 
tomb.  The  shadows  that  were  gliding  in  their  boats  around  were 
equally  silent.  They  were  clad  in  coarse  capotes  of  gray  wool, 
their  faces  lacked  expression,  their  eyes  possessed  no  fire,  their 
complexion  was  of  a  green  or  yellow  hue ;  I  was  told  that  they 
were  sailors  attached  to  the  garrison,  but  they  more  resembled 
soldiers.  Sometimes  the  boats  passed  round  us  in  silence,  some- 
times six  or  a  dozen  ragged  boatmen,  half-covered  with  sheep- 
skins, the  wool  turned  within  and  the  filthy  skin  appearing  with- 
out, brought  us  some -new  police  agent,  or  tardy  custom-house 
officer.  These  arrivals  and  departures,  though  they  did  not  ac- 
celerate our  matters,  at  least  gave  me  leisure  to  reflect  on  the 
species  of  filthiness  peculiar  to  the  people  of  the  North.  Those 
of  the  South  pass  their  life  in  the  open  air,  half-naked,  or  in  the 
water ;  those  of  the  North,  for  the  most  part  shut  up  within 
doors,  have  a  greasy  dirtiness,  which  appears  to  me  far  more 
offensive  than  the  neglect  of  a  people  destined  to  live  beneath 
the  open  heaven,  and  born  to  bask  in  the  sun. 

The  tedium  to  which  these  Russian  formalities  condemned 
us,  gave  me  also  an  opportunity  of  remarking  that  the  great 
lords  of  the  country  were  little  inclined  to  bear  patiently  the 
inconveniences  of  public  regulations,  when  those  regulations 
proved  inconvenient  to  themselves. 

"  Russia  is  the  land  of  useless  formalities,",  they  murmured  to 
each  other — but  in  French,  that  they  might  not  be  overheard  by 
the  subaltern  employes.  I  have  retained  the  remark,  with  the 
justice  of  which  my  own  experience  has  only  too  deeply  impressed 
nie.  As  far  as  I  h.ivo  been  hitherto  able  to  observe,  a  work  that 


40  INQUISITIONS    OF    THE    CUSTOM-HOUSE. 

should  bo  entitled  The  Russians  judged  by  Themselves,  would 
be  severe.  The  love  of  their  country  is  with  them  only  a  mode 
of  flattering  its  master ;  as  soon  as  they  think  that  master  can 
no  longer  hear,  they  speak  of  every  thing  with  a  frankness  which 
is  the  more  startling  because  those  who  listen  to  it  become  re- 
sponsible. 

The  cause  of  all  our  delay  was  at  length  revealed.  The  chief 
of  chiefs,  the  director  of  the  directors  of  the  custom-house  again 
presented  himself:  it  was  this  visit  we  had  been  awaiting  so  long, 
without  knowing  it.  At  first  it  appeared  as  if  the  only  business 
of  the  great  functionary  was  to  play  the  part  of  the  man  of  fash- 
ion among  the  Russian  ladies.  He  reminded  the  Princess  D 

of  their  rencontre  in  a  house  where  the  Princess  had  never  been  ; 
he  spoke  to  her  of  court  balls  she  had  never  seen  :  but  while  con- 
tinuing to  dispense  these  courtly  airs,  our  drawing-room  officer 
of  the  customs  would  now  and  then  gracefully  confiscate  a  para- 
sol, stop  a  portmanteau,  or  recommence,  with  an  imperturbable 
sang  froid,  the  researches  already  conscientiously  made  by  his 
subordinates. 

In  Russian  administration,  minuteness  does  not  exclude  dis- 
order. Much  trouble  is  taken  to  attain  unimportant  ends,  and 
those  employed  believe  they  can  never  do  enough  to  show  their 
zeal.  The  result  of  this  emulation  among  clerks  and  commission- 
ers is,  that  the  having  passed  through  one  formality  does  not  se- 
cure the  stranger  from  another.  It  is  like  a  pillage,  in  which 
the  unfortunate  wight,  after  escaping  from  the  first  troop,  may 
yet  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  second  and  a  third. 

The  chief  turnkey  of  the  empire  proceeded  slowly  to  examine 
the  vessel.  At  length  this  perfumed  Cerberus,  for  he  scented  of 
musk  at  the  distance  of  a  league,  released  us  from  the  ceremonies 
attending  an  entree  into  Russia,  and  we  were  soon  under  weigh, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  princes  and  princesses,  who  were  going 
to  rejoin  their  families.  Their  pleasure  belied  the  observation  of 
my  host  in  Ltibeck ;  as  for  me,  I  could  not  partake  in  it ;  on  the 
contrarj7,  I  regretted  quitting  their  delightful  society  to  go  and 
lose  myself  in  a  city  whose  vicinity  was  so  uninviting.  But  the 
charm  of  that  society  was  already  broken  ;  as  we  drew  towards 
the  end  of  our  journey  the  ties  which  had  united  us  became  se- 
vered— fragile  ties,  formed  only  by  the  passing  requirements  of 
the  voyage. 

The  women  of  the  North  know  wonderfully  well  how  to  make 
us  believe  that  they  would  have  desired  to  meet  with  that  which 
destiny  has  brought  in  their  way.  This  is  not  falsehood,  it  is 


FICKLENESS    OF    NORTHERN    PEOPLE.  41 

refined  coquetry,  a  species  of  complaisance  towards  fate,  and  a 
supreme  grace.  Grace  is  always  natural,  though  that  does  not 
prevent  its  being  often  used  to  hide  a  lie.  The  rude  shocks  and 
uncomfortably  constraining  influences  of  life  disappear  among 
graceful  women  and  poetical  men  ;  they  are  the  most  deceptive 
beings  in  creation  ;  distrust  and  doubt  cannot  stand  before  them  ; 
they  create  what  they  imagine ;  if  they  do  not  lie  to  others,  they 
do  to  their  own  hearts  ;  for  illusion  is  their  element,  fiction  their 
vocation,  and  pleasures  in  appearance  their  happiness.  Beware 
of  grace  in  woman,  and  poetry  in  man — weapons  the  more  danger- 
ous because  the  least  dreaded  ! 

Such  were  my  thoughts  on  leaving  the  walls  of  Kronstadt : 
we  were  still  all  together,  but  we  were  no  longer  united.  That 
circle,  animated,  but  the  previous  evening,  by  a  secret  harmony 
which  rarely  exists  in  society,  now  lacked  its  vital  principle. 
Few  things  had  ever  appeared  to  me  more  melancholy  than  this 
sudden  change.  I  acknowledged  it  as  the  condition  attached  to 
the  pleasures  of  the  world,  I  had  foreseen  it,  I  had  submitted  a 
hundred  times  to  the  same  experience ;  but  never  before  did  it 
enlighten  me  in  so  abrupt  a  manner.  Besides,  what  annoyances 
are  more  painful  than  those  of  which  we  cannot  complain  ?  I 
saw  each  individual  about  to  re-enter  his  own  path ;  the  free  in- 
terchange of  feeling  which  unites  those  travelling  together  to  the 
same  goal  no  longer  existed  among  them ;  they  were  returning 
into  real  life,  whilst  I  was  left  alone  to  wander  from  place  to 
place.  To  be  ever  wandering  is  scarcely  to  live.  I  felt  myself 
abandoned,  and  I  compared  the  cheerlessness  of  my  isolation  to 
their  domestic  pleasures.  Isolation  may  be  voluntary,  but  is  it 
on  this  account  the  more  sweet  ?  At  the  moment,  every  thing 
appeared  to  me  preferable  to  my  independence,  and  I  regretted 
even  the  cares  of  domestic  life.  I  could  read  in  the  eyes  of  the 
women  the  thoughts  of  husband,  children,  milliners,  hair-dressers, 
the  ball,  and  the  court;  and  could  equally  read  there,  that,  not- 
withstanding the  protestations  of  yesterday,  I  was  no  longer  an 
object  of  concern  to  them.  The  people  of  the  North  have 
changeable  hearts;  their  affections,  like  the  faint  rays  of  their 
sun,  are  always  dying.  Remaining  fixedly  attached  neither  to 
persons  nor  to  things — willingly  quitting  the  land  of  their  birth 
— born  for  invasions — these  people  seem  as  though  merely  des- 
tined to  sweep  down  from  the  pole,  at  the  times  and  epochs  ap- 
pointed by  God,  in  order  to  temper  and  refresh  the  races  of  the 
South,  scorched  by  the  fires  of  heaven  and  of  their  passions. 

On  arriving  at  Petersburg,  my  friends,  favoured  by  their 


42  APPROACH    TO    PETERSBURG. 

rank,  were  speedily  liberated  from  their  floating  prison,  in  which 
they  left  me,  bound  by  the  irons  of  the  police  and  the  custom- 
house, without  so  much  as  bidding  me  adieu.  Where  would 
have  been  the  use  of  adieus  ?  I  was  as  dead  to  them.  What 
are  travellers  to  mothers  of  families  ?  Not  one  cordial  word,  not 
one  look,  not  one  thought  was  bestowed  on  me.  It  was  the  white 
curtain  of  the  magic  lantern,  after  the  shadows  have  passed.  I 
repeat  that  I  had  expected  this  denouement,  but  I  had  not  ex- 
pected the  pain  which  it  caused  me ;  so  true  it  is  that  within  our- 
selves exists  the  source  of  all  our  unforeseen  emotions. 

Only  three  days  before  landing,  two  of  our  fair  and  amiable 
travellers  had  made  me  promise  to  visit  them  in  Petersburg, 
where  the  court  is  now  assembled. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Approach  to  Petersburg  by  the  Neva.— Incongruity  between  the  Climate  and  Aspect  of  the 
Country  and  the  Style  of  Architecture. — Absurd  Imitation  of  the  Monuments  of  Greece. — 
Tlie  Custom-House  nnd  Police. — Inquisitorial  Examination. — Difficulties  of  Landing. — 
Appearance  of  the  Streets.— Statue  of  Peter  the  Great. — The  Winter  Palace— Rebuilt  in 
one  Ve;ir— The  Means  employed.— Russian  Despotism.— Citation  from  Herberstein. — Ka- 
rainsin. — The  Character  of  the  People  accords  with  that  of  the  Government. 

THE  streets  of  Petersburg  present  a  strange  appearance  to  the 
eyes  of  a  Frenchman.  I  will  endeavour  to  describe  them  ;  but  I 
must  first  notice  the  approach  to  the  city  by  the  Neva.  It  is 
much  celebrated,  and  the  Russians  are  justly  proud  of  it,  though 
I  did  not  find  it  equal  to  its  reputation.  When,  at  a  considerable 
distance,  the  steeples  begin  to  appear,  the  effect  produced  is  more 
singular  than  imposing.  The  hazy  outline  of  land,  which  may 
be  perceived  far  off  between  the  sky  and  the  sea,  becomes,  as  you 
advance,  a  little  more  unequal  at  some  points  than  at  others ; 
these  scarcely  perceptible  irregularities  are  found  on  nearer  ap- 
proach to  be  the  gigantic  architectural  monuments  of  the  new 
capital  of  Russia.  We  first  begin  to  recognize  the  Greek  steeples 
and  the  gilded  cupolas  of  convents  ;  then  some  modern  public 
buildings — the  front  of  the  Exchange,  and  the  white  colonnades 
of  the  colleges,  museums,  barracks,  and  palaces  which  border  the 
quays  of  granite,  become  discernible.  On  entering  the  city,  you 
pass  some  sphinxes,  also  of  granite.  Their  dimensions  are  colos- 
sal and  their  appearance  imposing;  nevertheless  these  copies  of 
the  antique  have  no  merit  as  works  of  art.  A  city  of  palaces  is 


INCONGRUITY    BETWEEN    THE    CLIMATE,    ETC.  43 

always  magnificent,  but  the  imitation  of  classic  monuments  shocks 
the  taste  when  the  climate  under  which  these  models  are  so  in- 
appropriately placed  is  considered.  Soon,  however,  the  stranger 
is  struck  with  the  form  and  multitude  of  turret?  and  metallic 
spires  which  rise  in  every  direction :  this  at  least  is  national  ar- 
chitecture. Petersburg  is  flanked  with  numbers  of  large  con- 
vents, surmounted  by  steeples ;  pious  edifices,  which  serve  as  a 
rampart  to  the  profane  city.  The  Russian  churches  have  pre- 
served their  primitive  appearance ;  but  it  is  not  the  Russians  who 
invented  that  clumsy  and  capricious  Byzantine  style,  by  which 
they  are  distinguished.  The  Greek  religion  of  this  people,  their 
character,  education,  and  history,  alike  justify  their  borrowing 
from  the  Lower  Empire ;  they  may  be  permitted  to  seek  for 
models  at  Constantinople,  but  not  at  Athens.  Viewed  from  the 
Neva,  the  parapets  of  the  quays  of  Petersburg  are  striking  and 
magnificent;  but  the  first  step  after  landing  discovers  them  to  be 
badly  and  unevenly  paved  with  flints,  which  are  as  disagreeable 
to  the  e}re  as  inconvenient  to  the  feet,  and  ruinous  to  the  wheels. 
The  prevailing  taste  here  is  the  brilliant  and  the  striking :  spires, 
gilded  and  tapering  like  electric  conductors ;  porticos,  the  bases 
of  which  almost  disappear  under  the  water;  squares,  ornamented 
with  columns  which  seem  lost  in  the  immense  space  that  sur- 
rounds them;  antique  statues,  the  character  and  attire  of  which 
so  ill  accord  with  the  aspect  of  the  country,  the  tint  of  the  sky, 
the  costume  and  manners  of  the  inhabitants,  as  to  suggest  the 
idea  of  their  being  captive  heroes  in  a  hostile  land;  expatriated 
edifices,  temples  that  might  be  supposed  to  have  fallen  from  the 
summit  of  the  Grecian  mountains  into  the  marshes  of  Lapland  ; 
— such  were  the  objects  that  most  struck  me  at  the  first  sight  of 
St.  Petersburg.  The  magnificent  temples  of  the  pagan  gods, 
which  so  admirably  crown,  with  their  horizontal  lines  and  severe- 
ly chaste  contours,  the  promontories  of  the  Ionian  shores,  and 
whose  marbles  are  gilded  by  the  sunshine  amid  the  rocks  of  the 
Peloponnesus,  here  become  mere  heaps  of  plaster  and  mortar ;  the 
incomparable  ornaments  of  Grecian  sculpture,  the  wonderful  mi- 
nutiae of  classic  art,  have  all  given  place  to  an  indescribably  bur- 
lesque style  of  modern  decoration,  which  substitution  pa^srs 
among  the  Finlanders  as  a  proof  of  pure  taste  in  the  arts.  Par- 
tially to  imitate  that  which  is  perfect,  is  to  spoil  it.  We  should 
either  strictly  copy  the  model,  or  invent  altogether.  But  the  re- 
production of  the  monuments  of  Athens,  however  faithfully  exe- 
cuted, would  be  lost  in  a  miry  plain,  continually  in  danger  of 
being  overflowed  by  water  whose  level  is  nearly  that  of  the  land. 


44  TILE    ARCHITECTURE    OF    THE    COUNTRY. 

Here,  nature  suggests  to  man  the  very  opposite  of  what  he  has 
imagined.  Instead  of  imitations  of  pagan  temples,  it  demands 
bold  projecting  forms  and  perpendicular  lines,  in  order  to  pierce 
the  mists  of  a  polar  sky,  and  to  break  the  monotonous  surface  of 
the  moist  grey  steppes  which  form,  farther  than  the  eye  or  the 
imagination  can  stretch,  the  territory  of  Petersburg.  I  begin  to 
understand  why  the  Russians  urge  us  with  so  much  earnestness 
to  visit  them  during  winter :  six  feet  of  snow  conceals  all  this 
dreariness ;  but  in  summer,  we  see  the  country.  Explore  the 
territory  of  Petersburg  and  the  neighbouring  provinces,  and  you 
will  find,  I  am  told,  for  hundreds  of  leagues,  nothing  but  ponds 
and  morasses,  stunted  firs  and  dark-leaved  birch.  To  this  som- 
bre vegetation  the  white  shroud  of  winter  is  assuredly  preferable. 
Every  where  the  same  plains  and  bushes  seem  to  compose  the 
same  landscape  ;  at  least  until  the  traveller  approaches  Finland 
and  Sweden.  There,  he  finds  a  succession  of  little  granite  rocks 
covered  with  pines,  which  change  the  appearance  of  the  soil, 
though  without  giving  much  variety  to  the  landscape.  It  will 
be  easily  believed  that  the  gloom  of  such  a  country  is  scarcely 
lessened  by  the  lines  of  columns  which  men  have  raised  on  its 
even  and  naked  surface.  The  proper  basis  of  Greek  peristyles 
are  mountains :  there  is  here  no  harmony  between  the  inventions 
of  man  and  the  gifts  of  nature;  in  short,  a  taste  for  edifices  with- 
out taste  has  presided  over  the  building  of  St.  Petersburg. 

But  however  shocked  our  perceptions  of  the  beautiful  may  be 
by  the  foolish  imitations  which  spoil  the  appearance  of  the  Rus- 
sian capital,  it  is  impossible  to  contemplate  without  a  species  of 
admiration  an  immense  city  which  has  sprung  from  the  sea  at  the 
bidding  of  one  man,  and  which  has  to  defend  itself  against  a 
periodical  inundation  of  ice,  and  a  perpetual  inundation  of  water. 

The  Kronstadt  steam-boat  dropped  her  anchor  before  the 
English  quay  opposite  the  custom-house,  and  not  far  from  the 
famous  square  where  the  statue  of  Peter  the  Great  stands 
mounted  on  its  rock. 

I  would  gladly  spare  my  reader  the  detail  of  the  new  perse- 
cutions, which,  under  the  name  of  simple  formalities,  I  had  to 
undergo  at  the  hand  of  the  police,  and  its  faithful  ally  the  custom- 
house; but  it  is  a  duty  to  give  a  just  idea  of  the  difficulties  which 
attend  the  stranger  on  the  maritime  frontier  of  Russia :  the  en- 
trance by  land  is,  I  am  told,  more  easy. 

For  three  or  four  days  in  the  year  the  sun  of  Petersburg  is 
insupportable.  I  arrived  on  one  of  these  days.  Our  persecu- 
tors commenced  by  impounding  us  (not  the  Russians,  but  myself 


INQUISITORIAL    EXAMINATION'.  45 

and  the  other  foreigners)  on  the  deck  of  our  vessel.  We  were 
there,  for  a  long  time,  exposed  without  any  shelter  to  the  power- 
ful heat  of  the  morning  sun.  It  was  eight  o'clock,  and  had  been 
daylight  ever  since  one  hour  after  midnight.  They  spoke  of 
thirty  degrees  of  Reaumur*  ;  which  temperature,  be  it  remem- 
bered, is  much  more  inconvenient  in  the  North,  where  the  air 
is  surcharged  with  vapour,  than  in  hot  climates. 

At  length  I  was  summoned  to  appear  before  a  new  tribunal, 
assembled,  like  that  of  Kronstadt,  in  the  cabin  of  our  vessel. 
The  same  questions  were  addressed  to  me  with  the  same  polite- 
ness, and  my  answers  were  recorded  with  the  same  formalities. 

"  What  is  your  object  in  Russia?  " 

"  To  see  the  country." 

"  That  is  not  here  a  motive  for  travelling." 

(What  humility  in  this  objection  !) 

"  I  have  no  other." 

"  Whom  do  you  expect  to  see  in  Petersburg  ?  " 

"  Every  one  with  whom  I  may  have  an  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing acquaintance." 

"  How  long  do  you  think  of  remaining  in  Russia  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know." 

"  But  about  how  long  ?  " 

"  A  few  months." 

"  Have  you  a  public  diplomatic  mission?  " 

"No." 

"  A  secret  one  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Any  scientific  object  ?  " 

"No." 

"  Are  you  employed  by  your  government  to  examine  the  so- 
cial and  political  state  of  this  country  ?  " 

"No." 

"  By  any  commercial  association  ?  " 

"No." 

"  You.  travel,  then,  from  mere  curiosity  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  What  was  it  that  induced  you,  under  this  motive,  to  select 
Russia?" 

"  I  do  not  know,"  &c.,  &c.,  &c. 

"  Have  you  letters  of  introduction  to  any  people  of  this 
country  ?  " 

*  Nearly  100°  Fahrenheit. — Trans. 


46  DIFFICULTIES    OF    LANDING. 

I  had  been  forewarned  of  the  inconvenience  of  replying  too 
frankly  to  this  question  ;  I  therefore  spoke  only  of  my  banker. 

At  the  termination  of  the  session  of  this  court  of  assize,  I 
encountered  several  of  my  accomplices.  These  strangers  had 
been  sadly  perplexed,  owing  to  some  irregularities  that  had  been 
discovered  in  their  passports.  The  blood-hounds  of  the  Russian 
police  are  quick-scented,  and  have  a  very  different  manner  of 
treating  different  individuals.  An  Italian  merchant,  who  was 
among  our  passengers,  was  s-earched  unmercifully,  not  omit- 
ting even  the  clothes  on  his  person,  and  his  pocket-book.  Had 
.such  a  search  been  made  upon  me,  I  should  have  been  pro- 
nounced a  very  suspicious  character.  My  pockets  were  full  of 
letter^  of  introduction,  and  though  the  greater  number  had  been 
given  me  by  the  Russian  ambassador  himself,  and  by  others 
equally  well  known,  they  were  sealed ;  a  circumstance  which 
made  me  afraid  of  leaving  them  in  my  writing-case.  The  police 
permitted  me  to  pass  without  searching  my  person  ;  but  when  my 
baggage  came  to  be  unpacked  before  the  custom-house  officers, 
these  new  enemies  instituted  a  most  minute  examination  of  my 
effects,  more  especially  my  books.  The  latter  were  seized  en 
masse,  and  without  any  attention  to  my  protestations,  but  an  ex- 
traordinary politeness  of  manner  was  all  the  while  maintained. 
A  pair  of  pistols  and  an  old  portable  clock  were  also  taken  from 
me,  without  my  being  able  to  ascertain  the  reason  of  the  confisca- 
tion. All  that  I  could  get  was  the  promise  that  they  would  be 
returned. 

I  have  now  been  more  than  twenty-four  hours  on  shore  with- 
out having  been  able  to  recover  anything,  and  to  crown  my  em- 
barrassment, my  carriage  has,  by  mistake,  been  forwarded  from 
Kronstadt  to  the  address  of  a  Russian  prince.  It  will  require 
trouble,  and  explanations  without  end,  to  prove  this  error  to 
the  custom-house  agents  ;  for  the  prince  of  my  carriage  is  from 
home. 

Between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  I  found  myself,  personally,  re- 
leased from  the  fangs  of  the  custom-house,  and  entered  Petersburg 
under  the  kind  care  of  a  German  traveller,  whom  I  met  by  chance, 
on  the  quay.  If  a  spy,  he  was  at  least  a  useful  one,  speaking 
both  French  and  Russian,  and  undertaking  to  procure  me  a 
drowska  ;  while,  in  the  mean  time,  he  himself  aided  my  valet  to 
transport  in  a  cart  to  Coulon's  hotel  such  part  of  my  baggage  as 
had  been  given  up. 

Coulou  is  a  Frenchman,  who  is  said  to  keep  the  best  hotel  in 
Petersburg,  which  is  not  saying  much.  In  Russia,  foreigners  soon 


I  UK    \V1\TER    PALACE.  47 

lose  all  trace  of  their  national  character,  without,  at  the  same  time, 
ever  assimilating  to  that  of  the  natives. 

The  obliging  stranger  found  even  a  guide  for  me  who  could 
speak  German,  and  who  mounted  behind  in  the  drowska,  in  order 
to  answer  my  questions.  This  man  acquainted  me  with  the  names 
of  the  buildings  we  passed  in  proceeding  to  the  hotel,  which  occu- 
pied some  time,  for  the  distances  are  great  in  Petersburg. 

The  too  celebrated  statue  of  Peter  the  Great,  placed  on  its 
rock  by  the  Empress  Catharine,  first  attracted  my  attention.  The 
equestrian  figure  is  neither  antique  nor  modern ;  it  is  a  Roman 
of  the  time  of  Louis  XV.  To  aid  in  supporting  the  horse,  an 
enormous  serpent  has  been  placed  at  his  feet ;  which  is  an  ill- 
conceived  idea,  serving  only  to  betray  the  impotence  of  the 
artist. 

I  stopped  for  one  moment  before  the  scaffolding  of  an  edifice 
which,  though  not  yet  completed,  is  already  famous  in  Europe, 
the  church,  namely,  of  St.  Isaac.  I  also  saw  the  facade  of  the 
new  winter  palace  ;  another  mighty  result  of  human  will  applying 
human  physical  powers  in  a  struggle  with  the  laws  of  nature. 
The  end  has  been  attained,  for  in  one  year  this  palace  has  risen 
from  its  ashes ;  and  it  is  the  largest,  I  believe,  which  exists  ; 
equalling  the  Louvre  and  the  Tuileries  together. 

In  order  to  complete  the  structure  at  the  time  appointed  by 
the  Emperor,  unheard-of  efforts  were  necessary.  The  interior 
works  were  continued  during  the  great  frosts  ;  6000  workmen  were 
continually  employed :  of  these  a  considerable  number  died  daily, 
but  the  victims  were  instantly  replaced  by  other  champions  brought 
forward  to  perish,  in  their  turn,  in  this  inglorious  breach.  And 
the  sole  end  of  all  these  sacrifices  was  to  gratify  the  caprice  of 
one  man  ! 

Among  people  naturally,  that  is  to  say,  anciently  civilized,  the 
life  of  men  is  only  exposed  when  common  interests,  the  urgency 
of  which  is  universally  admitted,  demand  it.  But  how  many 
generations  of  monarchs  has  not  the  example  of  Peter  the  Great 
corrupted  ! 

Daring  frosts  when  the  thermometer  was  at  25  to  30  degrees 
below  0  of  Reaumur,  6000  obscure  martyrs — martyrs  without 
merit,  for  the  obedience  was  involuntary — were  shut  up  in  halls 
heated  to  30  degrees  of  Reaumur,  in  order  that  the  walls  might 
dry  more  quickly.  Thus,  in  entering  and  leaving  this  abode  of 
death,  destined  to  become,  by  virtue  of  their  sacrifice,  the  abode 
of  vanity,  magnificence,  and  pleasure,  these  miserable  beings 
would  have  to  endure  a  difference  of  50  to  60  degrees  of 
temperature. 


48  MEANS    EMPLOYED    FOR    ITS    ERECTION. 

The  works  in  the  mines  of  the  Uralian  mountains  are  less 
inimical  to  life ;  and  yet  the  workmen  employed  at  Petersburg 
were  not  malefactors.  I  was  told  that  those  who  had  to  paint 
the  interior  of  the  most  highly  heated  halls  were  obliged  to  place 
on  their  heads  a  kind  of  bonnet  of  ice,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
use  of  their  senses  under  the  burning  temperature.  Had  there 
been  a  design  to  disgust  the  world  with  arts,  elegance,  luxury, 
and  all  the  pomp  of  courts,  could  a  more  efficacious  mode  have 
been  taken?  And  nevertheless  the  sovereign  was  called  father 
by  the  men  immolated  before  his  eyes  in  prosecuting  an  object 
of  pure  imperial  vanity.  They  were  neither  spies  nor  Russian 
cynics  who  gave  me  these  details,  the  authenticity  of  which  I 
guarantee. 

The  millions  expended  on  Versailles  supported  as  many  families 
of  French  workmen  as  there  were  Slavonian  serfs  destroyed  by 
these  twelve  months  in  the  winter  palace  ;  but,  by  means  of  that 
sacrifice,  the  mandate  of  the  Emperor  has  realized  a  prodigy ;  and 
the  palace,  completed  to  the  general  satisfaction,  is  going  to  be 
inaugurated  by  marriage  fetes.  A  prince  may  be  popular  in 
Russia  without  attaching  much  value  to  human  life.  Nothing 
colossal  is  produced  without  effort ;  but  when  a  man  is  in  himself 
both  the  nation  and  the  government,  he  ought  to  impose  on  him- 
self a  law,  not  to  press  the  great  springs  of  the  machine  he  has 
the  power  of  moving,  except  for  some  object  worthy  of  the  effort. 
To  work  miracles  at  the  cost  of  the  life  of  an  army  of  slaves  may 
be  great;  but  it  is  too  great,  for  both  G-od  and  man  will  finally 
rise  to  wreak  vengeance  on  these  inhuman  prodigies.  Men  have 
adored  the  light,  the  Russians  worship  the  eclipse :  when  will 
their  eyes  be  opened  ? 

I  do  not  say  that  their  political  system  produces  nothing  good  ; 
I  simply  say  that  what  it  does  produce  is  dearly  bought. 

It  is  not  now  for  the  first  time  that  foreigners  have  been  struck 
with  astonishment  at  contemplating  the  attachment  of  this  people 
to  their  slavery.  The  following  passage,  which  is  an  extract  from 
the  correspondence  of  the  Baron  Herberstein,  ambassador  from  the 
Emperor  Maximilian,  father  of  Charles  V.,  to  the  Czar  Vassili 
Ivanowich,  I  have  found  in  Karamsin. 

Did  the  Russians  know  all  that  an  attentive  reader  may  gather 
even  from  that  flattering  historian,  in  whom  they  glory,  and  whom 
foreigners  consult  with  extreme  distrust,  on  account  of  his  par- 
tiality as  a  courtier,  they  would  entreat  the  Emperor  to  forbid 
the  perusal  of  his,  and  of  all  other  historical  works,  and  thus  be 
left  in  darkness  equally  favorable  to  the  repose  of  the  despot  and 


CITATION    PROM    HERBERSTEIN.  49 

the  felicity  of  his  subjects,  who  believe  themselves  happy  so  long 
as  others  do  nof  stigmatize  them  as  victims. 

Herberstein,  in  characterizing  the  Russian  despotism,  writes 
as  follows  : — "  He  (the  Czar)  speaks,  and  it  is  done ;  the  life  and 
fortunes  of  laity  and  clergy,  nobles  and  burghers,  all  depend  on 
his  supreme  will.  He  is  unacquainted  with  contradictiou,  and  all 
he  does  is  deemed  as  equitable  as  though  it  were  done  by  Deity; 
for  the  Russians  are  persuaded  that  their  princ3  is  the  executor 
of  the  Divine  decrees.  Thus,  "  God  and  t.//e  prince  have  willed" 
"  God  and  the  prince  know"  are  common  modes  of  speech  among 
them.  Nothing  can  equal  their  zeal  for  his  service.  One  of  his 
principal  officers,  a  venerable  grey-haired  person,  formerly  am- 
bassador in  Spain,  came  to  meet  us  on  our  entry  into  Moscow. 
He  galloped  his  horse,  and  displayed  all  the  activity  of  a  young 
man,  until  the  sweat  fell  from  his  brow ;  and  when  I  expressed 
my  surprise  to  him,  '  Ah,  Monsieur  le  Baron"  he  replied,  "  ive 
serve  our  sovereign  in  a  manner  altogether  different  from  that 
in  which,  you  serve  yours."1 

"  I  cannot  say  whether  it  is  the  character  of  the  Russian  nation 
which  has  formed  such  autocrats,  or  whether  it  is  the  autocrats 
themselves  who  have  given  this  character  to  the  nation." 

This  letter,  written  more  than  three  centuries  ago,  describes 
the  Russians  precisely  as  I  now  see  them.  Like  the  ambassador 
of  Maximilian,  I  still  ask,  is  it  the  character  of  the  Russian  which 
has  made  the  autocracy,  or  is  it  the  autocracy  which  has  made  the 
Russian  character  ?  and  I  can  no  more  solve  the  question  than 
could  the  German  diplomatist. 

It  appears  to  me,  however,  that  the  influence  is  reciprocal : 
the  Russian  government  eould  never  have  been  established  else- 
where than  in  Russia ;  and  the  Russians  would  never  have  become 
what  they  are  under  a  government  differing  from  that  which  exists 
among  them. 

I  will  add  another  citation  from  the  same  author,  Karamsin. 
He  repeats  the  observations  of  the  travellers  who  visited  Muscovy 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  "  Is  it  surprising,"  say  these  strangers, 
"  that  the  Grand  Prince  is  rich  '?  He  neither  gives  money  to  his 
troops  nor  his  ambassadors ;  he  even  takes  from  these  last  all  the 
costly  things  they  bring  back  from  foreign  lands.*  It  was  thus 
that  the  Prince  Yaroslowsky,  on  his  return  from  Spain,  was  obliged 
to  place  in  the  treasury  all  the  chains  of  gold,  the  collars,  the 

*  Dickens,  in  his  Travels  through  the  United  States,  informs  us  that 
the  sarue  practice  is  at  this  day  observed  in  America. 
3 


50  THE    CHARACTER    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

costly  stuffs,  and  the  silver  vessels,  which  the  Emperor  and  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand  had  given  him.  Nevertheless,  these  men 
do  not  complain.  They  say,  '  The  Great  Prince  takes  away,  the 
Great  Prince  will  restore.'  "  It  was  thus  the  llussians  spoke  of 
the  Czar  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

At  the  present  day  you  will  hear,  both  in  Paris  and  in  Peters- 
burg, numbers  of  Russians  dwelling  with  rapture  on  the  prodi- 
gious effects  of  the  word  of  the  Emperor ;  and,  while  magnifying 
these  results,  not  one  troubles  himself  with  dwelling  upon  the 
means.  "  The  word  of  the  Emperor  can  create,"  they  say.  Yes, 
it  can  animate  stones  by  destroying  human  beings.  Notwith- 
standing this  little  restrictive  clause,  every  Russian  is  proud  of 
being  able  to  say  to  as,  "  You  take  three  years  to  deliberate 
on  the  means  of  rebuilding  a  theatre,  whilst  our  Emperor  raises 
again,  in  one  year,  the  largest  palace  in  the  universe."  And  this 
puerile  triumph  does  not  appear  to  them  too  dearly  bought  by  the 
death  of  a  few  thousand  wretched  artizans,  sacrificed  to  that  sov- 
ereign impatience,  that  imperial  fantasy,  which  constitutes  the 
national  glory.  Whilst  I,  though  a  Frenchman,  see  nothing  but 
inhuman  ostentation  in  this  achievement,  not  a  single  protesta- 
tion is  raised  from  one  end  of  this  immense  empire  to  the  other 
against  the  orgies  of  absolute  power. 

People  and  government  are  here  in  unison.  That  a  man 
brought  up  in  the  idolatry  of  self,  a  man  revered  as  omnipotent  by 
sixty  millions  of  men  (or  at  least  of  beings  that  resemble  men), 
should  not  undertake  to  put  an  end  to  such  a  state  of  things,  this 
does  not  surprise  me ;  the  wonder  is,  that  among  the  voices  that 
relate  these  things  to  the  glory  of  this  individual,  not  one  sepa- 
rates itself  from  the  universal  chorus,  to  protest  in  favour  of  hu- 
manity against  such  autocratic  miracles.  It  may  be  said  of  the 
llussians,  great  and  small,  that  they  are  drunk  with  slavery. 


COSTUME    OF    THE    LOWER    ORDERS.  51 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Costume  of  the  Lower  Orders.— Petersburg  in  the  Morning —Resemblance  of  the  City  to  a 
Barrack.— Contrast  between  Russia  and  Spain. — Difference  between  Tyranny  and  Despo- 
mm.—  The  Tchin.— Peculiar  Character  of  the  Russian  Government. — Tne  Arts  in  Russia. 
—A  Russian  Hotel.— The  Evils  to  be  encountered  there.— The  Michael  Palaces.— Death  of 
Paul  I.— The  Spy  baffled —The  Neva,  its  Quays  and  Bridges.— Cabin  of  Peter  I.— The 
Citadel,  its  Tombs  and  Dungeons.— Church  of  St.  Alexander  Newski.— Russian  Veterans. 
Austerity  of  the  Czar.— Russian  Faith  in  the  Future,  and  its  Realization.— Munich  and 
Petersburg  compared.— Interior  of  the  Fortress. — The  Imperial  Tomb*. — Subterranean 
Prison.— Russian  Prisoners.— Moral  Degradation  of  the  hisher  Classes.—  Catholic  Church. 
—Precarious  Toleration.— Tomb  of  the  last  King  of  Poland  and  of  Moreau. 

IT  was  on  the  day  before  yesterday,  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock, 
that  I  obtained  the  liberty  of  entering  Petersburg. 

The  city,  whose  inhabitants  are  not  early  risers,  gave  me,  at 
that  hour  of  day,  the  idea  of  a  vast  solitude.  Now  and  then  I 
met  a  few  drowskas.  The  drivers  were  dressed  in  the  costume 
of  the  country.  The  singular  appearance  of  these  men,  their 
horses  and  carriages,  struck  me  more  than  any  thing  else  on  my 
first  view  of  the  city. 

The  ordinary  costume  and  general  appearance  of  the  lower 
classes  of  Petersburg  (not  the  porters,  but)  the  workmen,  coach- 
men, small  tradespeople,  &c.,  &c.,  is  as  follows  : — On  the  head 
is  worn  either  a  cap,  formed  somewhat  in  the  shape  of  a  melon ; 
or  a  narrow-brimmed  hat,  low-crowned,  and  wider  on  the  top  than 
the  bottom.  This  head-dress  slightly  resembles  a  woman's  tur- 
ban. It  becomes  the  younger  men.  Both  young  and  old  wear 
beards.  Those  of  the  beanx  are  silken  and  carefully  combed; 
those  of  the  old  and  the  careless  appear  dirty  and  matted.  Their 
eyes  have  a  peculiar  expression,  strongly  resembling  the  deceit- 
ful glance  of  Asiatics — so  strongly,  that  in  casually  observing 
them  you  might  fancy  yourself  in  Persia. 

Their  locks,  worn  long  on  each  side,  fall  upon  the  cheeks  and 
conceal  the  ears  ;  but  their  hair  is  cut  closely  off  from  the  nape 
of  the  neck  upwards,  which  original  mode  of  wearing  it  leaves 
the  neck  behind  quite  bare,  for  they  have  no  cravat.  The  beard 
sometimes  falls  upon  the  breast,  sometimes  it  is  cut  close  round 
the  chin.  Much  value  is  attached  to  this  ornament,  which  ac- 
cords with  the  tout  ensemble  of  the  costume  better  than  with  the 
stocks,  the  frock  coats,  and  the  waistcoats  of  our  young  modern 
fops. 

The  Russian  people  have  a  natural  perception  of  the  pic- 
turesque ;  their  customs,  furniture,  utensils,  costume  and  figure, 
would  all  furnish  subject  for  the  painter,  and  the  corner  of  every 


52  CONTRAST    BETWEEN    RUSSIA    AND    SPAIN. 

street  in  Petersburg  might  suggest  material  for  a  picture  graceful 
in  its  kind. 

But  to  complete  the  description  of  the  national  costume — in 
place  of  our  frock  and  greatcoats,  is  substituted  the  cafetan, 
a  long  and  loose  Persian  robe  made  of  grey,  olive,  or  yet  more 
commonly,  of  blue  cloth.  The  folds  of  this  robe,  which  has  no 
collar,  but  is  cut  close  to  the  neck,  form  an  ample  drapery,  drawn 
together  round  the  loins  by  a  brightly-coloured  silken  or  woollen 
girdle.  The  boots  are  large,  and  take  the  form  of  the  foot.  On 
the  legs,  the  high  leather  falls  down,  or  is  doubled  back  over 
itself,  in  not  ungraceful  folds. 

The  movements  of  the  men  whom  I  met  were  stiff  and  con- 
strained ;  every  gesture  expressed  a  will  which  was  not  their  own. 
The  morning  is  the  time  for  commissions  and  errands,  and  not 
one  individual  appeared  to  be  walking  on  his  own  account.  I 
observed  few  good-looking  women,  and  heard  no  girlish  voices ; 
everything  was  dull  and  regular  as  in  a  barrack.  Military  disci- 
pline reigns  throughout  Russia.  The  aspect  of  the  country  makes 
me  regret  Spain  as  much  as  though  I  had  been  born  an  Andalu- 
sian  :  it  is  not  however  the  heat  which  I  want,  for  that  here  is 
almost  suffocating ;  it  is  light  and  light-heartedness.  Love  and 
liberty  for  the  heart,  brilliancy  and  variety  of  colour  for  the  eye, 
are  here  unknown  :  in  a  word,  Russia  is  in  all  respects  the  very 
opposite  of  Spain.  Fancy  can  almost  descry  the  shadow  of 
death  hovering  over  this  portion  of  the  globe. 

Now  appears  a  cavalry  officer  passing  at  full  gallop  to  bear  an 
order  to  some  commanding  officer  ;  now  a  chasseur,  carrying  an 
order  to  some  provincial  governor,  perhaps  at  the  other  extremity 
of  the  empire,  whither  he  proceeds  in  a  kibitka,  a  little  Russian 
chariot,  without  springs  or  stuffed  seat.  This  vehicle,  driven  by 
an  old  bearded  coachman,  rapidly  conveys  the  courier,  whose  rank 
would  prevent  his  using  a  more  commodious  equipage  had  he  one 
at  his  disposal.  Next  are  seen  foot  soldiers  returning  from  ex- 
ercise to  their  quarters,  to  receive  orders  from  their  captain.  This 
automaton  population  resembles  one  side  of  a  chess  board,  where 
a  single  individual  causes  the  movements  of  all  the  pieces,  but 
where  the  adversary  is  invisible.  One  neither  moves  nor  respires 
here  except  by  an  imperial  order  ;  consequently,  everything  is 
dull,  formal  and  spiritless.  Silence  presides  over  and  paralyses 
life.  Officers,  coachmen,  Cossacks,  serfs,  courtiers,  all  servants 
under  the  same  master,  blindly  obey  the  orders  which  they  do  not 
understand  ;  it  is  certainly  the  perfection  of  discipline  ;  but  the 
sight  of  such  perfection  does  not  gratify  me  ;  so  much  regularity 
can  only  be  obtained  by  the  entire  absence  of  independence. 


THE    TCHIN.  53 

Among  a  people  thus  bereft  of  time  and  of  will,  we  see  only 
bodies  without  souls,  and  tremble  to  think  that  for  so  vast  a 
multitude  of  arms  and  legs  there  is  only  one  head.  Despotism  is 
a  union  of  impatience  and  indolence  ;  with  a  little  more  forbear- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  governing  power,  and  of  activity  on  the 
part  of  the  people,  equal  results  might  be  obtained  at  a  far 
cheaper  cost ;  but  what  then  would  become  of  tyranny  ? 

If  I  am  reproached  for  confounding  despotism  with  tyranny,  I 
answer  that  I  do  so  with  design.  They  are  such  near  relatives, 
that  they  never  fail  to  unite  in  secret  to  the  misfortune  of  man- 
kind. Under  a  despotism,  tyranny  may  maintain  itself  the  longer, 
because  it  preserves  tho  mask. 

When  Peter  the  Great  established  what  is  here  called  the  tchin, 
that  is  to  say,  when  he  applied  the  military  system  to  the  general 
administration  of  the  empire,  he  changed  his  nation  into  a  regi- 
ment of  mutes,  of  which  he  declared  himself  and  his  successors 
the  hereditary  colonels. 

Let  the  reader  imagine  the  ambition,  the  rivalry,  and  all  the 
other  passions  of  war  in  operation  during  a  state  of  peace ;  let  his 
mind  conceive  an  absence  of  all  that  constitutes  social  and  do- 
mestic happiness  ;  and,  instead  of  these,  let  him  picture  to  himself 
the  universal  agitation  of  an  ever-restless  though  secret  intrigue, 
— secret,  because  the  mask  is  essential  to  success ;  finally,  let  him 
realize  the  idea  of  the  almost  complete  apparent  triumph  of  the 
will  of  one  man  over  the  will  of  God,  and  he  will  understand 
Russia. 

As  the  morning  advances  the  city  becomes  more  noisy,  without 
however  appearing  more  gay  ;  one  sees  only  carriages,  little  dis- 
tinguished for  elegance,  carrying  at  the  full  speed  of  their  two, 
four,  or  six  horses,  people  always  in  haste,  because  their  life  is 
passed  in  thus  making  their  way.  Pleasure  with  any  ulterior 
aim — pleasure  for  its  own  sake,  is  here  a  thing  unknown. 

Thus,  almost  all  the  great  artistes  who  visit  Russia  to  reap 
the  fruit  of  the  fame  they  have  acquired  elsewhere,  never  remain 
beyond  a  very  brief  period;  if  ever  they  prolong  their  stay,  they 
wrong  their  talents.  The  air  of  this  country  is  unfavourable  to 
the  finer  arts.  Productions  that  spring  spontaneously  elsewhere, 
will  here  only  grow  in  the  hot-house.  Russian  art  will  never  be 
a  hardy  plant. 

At  the  Hotel  de  Coulon,  I  found  a  degenerated  French  %inn- 
keeper.  His  house  is  at  present  nearly  full,  on  account  of  the 
marriage  of  the  Grand  Duchess  Maria;  indeed,  he  appeared 
almost  annoyed  at  being  obliged  to  receive  another  guest,  and 


54  A   RUSSIAN    HOTEL. 

consequently  gave  himself  little  trouble  to  accommodate  me. 
After  several  parleys,  I  was  at  length  established  on  the  second 
floor,  in  suffocating  apartments,  consisting  of  an  entree,  a  salon, 
and  a  bed-chamber,  the  whole  without  curtains  or  window  blinds, 
though  there  is  a  sun  for  twenty-two  hours  daily  above  the 
horizon,  the  oblique  rays  of  which  penetrate  more  fully  into  the 
houses  than  the  sun  of  Africa,  which  falls  direct  upon  the  roofs. 
The  air  of  this  lodging  resembles  that  of  a  limekiln  choked  with 
dust,  and  charged  with  exhalations  of  insects  mingled  with  musk, 
forming  altogether  an  atmosphere  that  is  insupportable. 

Scarcely  was  I  installed  in  this  abode  than  (the  fatigue  of 
the  night  having  got  the  better  of  my  curiosity,  which  usually 
impels  me  to  sally  forth  and  lose  myself  in  a  large  unknown  city) 
I  lay  down,  wrapped  in  a  cloak,  on  an  immense  leather  sofa  and 
slept  profoundly  during — three  minutes 

At  the  end  of  that  time  I  woke  in  a  fever,  and  on  casting  my 
eyes  upon  the  cloak,  what  a  sight  awaited  them  ! — a  brown  but 
living  mass  : — things  must  be  called  by  their  proper  name — I 
was  covered,  I  was  devoured  with  bugs.  Russia  is,  in  this  re- 
spect, not  a  whit  inferior  to  Spain  :  but  in  the  South  we  can  both 
console  and  secure  ourselves  in  the  open  air  ;  here  we  must  re- 
main imprisoned  with  the  enemy,  and  the  war  is  consequently 
more  sanguine.  I  began  throwing  off  my  clothes  and  calling  for 
help.  What  a  prospect  for  the  night !  This  thought  made  me 
cry  out  more  lustily.  A  Russian  waiter  appeared.  I  made  him 
understand  that  I  wished  to  see  his  master.  The  master  kept 
me  waiting  a  long  time,  and  when  he  at  length  did  come,  and 
was  informed  of  the  nature  of  my  trouble,  he  began  to  laugh, 
and  soon  left  the  room,  telling  me  that  I  should  become  accus- 
tomed to  it,  for  that  it  was  the  same  every  where  in  Petersburg. 
He  first  advised  me,  however,  never  to  seat  myself  on  a  Russian 
sofa,  because  the  domestics,  who  always  carry  about  with  them 
legions  of  insects,  sleep  on  these  articles  of  furniture.  To  tran- 
quillise  me,  he  further  stated,  that  the  vermin  would  not  follow 
me  if  I  kept  at  a  proper  distance  from  the  furniture  in  which 
they  had  fixed  their  abode. 

The  inns  of  Petersburg  resemble  caravanserais,  where  the 
traveller  is  simply  housed,  but  not  waited  upon,  unless  by  his 
own  servants.  Mine,  being  ignorant  of  the  Russian  language,  is 
not  only  useless  to  me  but  troublesome,  for  I  have  to  take  care 
of  him  as  well  as  myself ! 

However,  his  Italian  quickness  soon  discovered  in  one  of  the 
dark  corridors  of  this  walled  desert,  called  L'Hotel  Coulon,  a 


MICHAEL    PALACES.  55 

footman,  out  of  place,  who  speaks  German,  and  whom  the  keeper 
of  the  hotel  recommended.  I  engaged  him,  and  told  him  of  my 
distress.  He  immediately  procured  for  me  a  light  iron  bedstead, 
the  mattress  of  which  I  had  stufi'ed  with  the  freshest  straw  that 
could  be  obtained,  and  caused  the  four  feet  to  be  placed  in  as 
many  jars  of  water,  in  the  middle  of  the  chamber,  from  whence  I 
also  directed  the  furniture  to  be  removed.  Thus  prepared  for 
the  night,  I  dressed,  and  attended  by  the  footman,  whom  I  had 
desired  to  forbear  directing  me,  I  issued  from  my  magnificent 
hotel — a  palace  without,  and  an  ornamented  stable  within. 

The  hotel  Coulon  opens  on  a  kind  of  "  square"  which  is 
tolerably  lively  for  this  city.  On  one  side  of  the  square  stands 
the  new  Michael  Palace,  the  stately  abode  of  the  Grand  Duke 
Michael,  brother  of  the  Emperor.  It  was  built  for  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  who  never  inhabited  it.  The  other  sides  of  the 
square  are  enclosed  by  fine  ranges  of  buildings  with  noble  streets 
opening  between.  Scarcely  had  I  passed  the  new  Michael 
Palace  when  I  found  myself  before  the  old.  It  is  a  vast,  square, 
and  gloomy  fabric,  differing  in  all  respects  from  the  elegant 
modern  edifice  of  the  same  name. 

If  the  men  are  silent  in  Russia,  the  stones  speak  with  a  la- 
mentable voice.  I  am  not  surprised  that  the  Russians  neglect 
their  ancient  architectural  monuments ;  these  are  witnesses  of 
their  history,  which  for  the  most  part,  they  are  glad  to  forget. 
"When  I  observed  the  black  steps,  the  deep  canals,  the  massive 
bridges,  and  the  deserted  porticoes  of  this  ill-omened  palace,  I 
asked  its  name;  and  the  answer  called  to  my  mind  the  catas- 
trophe which  placed  Alexander  on  the  throne,  while  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  dark  scene  which  terminated  the  reign  of  Paul 
I.  presented  themselves  to  my  imagination. 

Nor  was  this  all :  by  a  kind  of  savage  irony,  there  had  been 
placed  opposite  the  principal  gate  of  the  sinister  edifice,  before 
the  death,  and  by  the  order  of  the  Emperor  Paul,  the  equestrian 
statue  of  his  brother  Peter  III.,  another  victim  whose  memory 
the  Emperor  delighted  to  honour  in  order  to  dishonour  that  of  his 
mother.  What  tragedies  are  played  in  cold  blood  in  this  land, 
where  ambtion  and  even  hate  are  calm  in  appearance  !  With  the 
people  of  the  South,  their  passion  reconciles  me,  in  some  meas- 
ure to  their  cruelty  ;  but  the  calculating  reserve  and  the  coldness 
of  the  men  of  the  North  add  to  crime  the  varnish  of  hypocrisy. 
Snow  is  a  mask.  Here  man  appears  gentle  because  he  is  impass- 
ible ;  but  murder  without  hate  inspires  rne  with  more  horror  than 
vindictive  assassination.  The  more  nearly  I  can  recognize  an  in- 


56  DEATH    OF    PAUL    I. 

voluntary  impulse  in  the  commission  of  evil,  the  more  I  feel  con- 
soled. Unfortunately,  it  was  the  calculation  of  interest  and  pru- 
dence, and  not  the  impulses  of  anger,  which  presided  over  the 
murder  of  Paul.  Good  Russians  pretend  that  the  conspirators 
had  only  intended  to  place  him  in  prison.  I  have  seen  the  secret 
door  opening  into  the  garden,  which  led  to  the  apartment  of  the 
Emperor  by  a  private  staircase,  up  which  Pahlen  caused  the  as- 
sassins to  ascend.  His  communication  with  them  on  the  evening 
before,  was  to  this  effect : — "  You  will  either  have  killed  the  Em- 
peror by  five  o'clock  to-morrow  morning,  or  you  will  be  denounced 
by  me  to  the  Emperor  at  half-past  five,  as  conspirators."  The 
result  of  this  eloquent  and  laconic  harangue  need  not  be  in- 
quired. 

At  five  o'clock  on  the  following  morning,  Alexander  was  an 
Emperor,  and  also  an  imputed  parricide,  although  he  had  only 
consented  (this  is  true,  I  believe,)  to  the  confinement  of  his  fa- 
ther, in  order  to  save  his  mother  from  prison  and  perhaps  death, 
to  protect  himself  from  a  similar  fate,  and  to  preserve  his  coun- 
try from  the  rage  and  caprice  of  an  insane  autocrat. 

At  the  present  day,  the  Russians  pass  the  old  Michael  Pal- 
ace without  daring  to  look  at  it.  In  the  schools,  and  elsewhere, 
the  death  of  the  Emperor  Paul  is  forbidden  to  be  mentioned,  or 
even  believed. 

I  am  astonished  that  this  palace  of  inconvenient  recollections 
has  not  been  pulled  down.  The  traveller  congratulates  himself 
at  the  sight  of  a  monument  whose  antique  appearance  is  remark- 
able in  a  land  where  despotism  renders  every  thing  uniform  and 
new  :  where  the  reigning  notion  effaces  daily  the  traces  of  the 
past.  Its  square  and  solid  form,  its  deep  moats,  tragic  associa- 
tions, secret  gates,  and  staircases  favorable  to  crime,  impart  to 
it  an  imposing  air,  which  is  a  rare  advantage  in  Petersburg.  At 
each  step  I  take  I  am  amazed  to  observe  the  confusion  that  has 
been  every  where  made  in  this  city  between  two  arts  so  very  dif- 
ferent as  those  of  architecture  and  decoration.  Peter  the  Great 
and  his  successors  seem  to  have  taken  their  capital  for  a  theatre. 

I  was  struck  with  the  startled  air  of  my  guide,  when  I  ques- 
tioned him,  in  the  most  easy  and  natural  manner  that  I  could  as- 
sume, on  the  events  that  had  taken  place  in  the  old  palace.  The 
physiognomy  of  this  man  replied,  "  It  is  easy  to  see  you  are  a 
new  comer."  Surprise,  fear,  mistrust,  affected  innocence,  pre- 
tended ignorance,  the  experience  of  an  old  soldier  who  would  not 
easily  be  duped,  took  possession,  by  turns,  of  his  countenance, 
and  made  it  a  book  equally  instructive  and  amusing  to  peruse. 


CABIN    OF    PETER    I.  57 

When  your  spy  is  at  fault  by  reason  of  your  apparent  security, 
the  expression  of  his  face  is  truly  grotesque,  for  he  beUeves  him- 
self compromised  by  you  so  soon  as  he  sees  that  you  do  not  fear 
being  compromised  by  him.  The  spy  thinks  only  of  his  voca- 
tion ;  and  if  you  escape  his  nets  he  begins  at  once  to  imagine 
that  he  is  going  to  fall  into  yours. 

A  promenade  through  the  streets  of  Petersburg,  under  the 
charge  of  a  domestique  de  place,  is  not  without  interest,  and  lit- 
tle resembles  a  progress  through  the  capitals  of  other  civilized 
lands.  One  thing  is  singularly  connected  with  and  dependent 
on  another  in  a  state  governed  with  so  close  a  logic  as  that  which 
presides  over  the  policy  of  Russia. 

After  leaving  the  old  and  tragical  Michael  Palace,  I  crossed 
a  large  square  resembling  the  Champ  de  Mars  at  Paris,  so  spa- 
cious is  it  and  so  empty.  On  one  side  is  a  public  garden,  on  the 
other  a  few  houses  ;  there  is  sand  instead  of  pavement  in  the 
middle  of  the  area,  and  dust  in  every  part  of  it.  This  immense 
square,  the  form  of  which  is  vague  and  undefined,  extends  to 
the  Neva,  near  which  termination  is  a  bronze  statue  of  ISuwaroff. 

The  Neva,  its  bridges  and  quays  form  the  real  glory  of  Pe- 
tersburg. The  scene  here  is  so  vast,  that  all  the  rest  seems  little 
in  comparison.  The  Neva  is  like  a  vessel  so  full  that  its  brirn 
disappears  under  the  water,  which  is  ready  to  flow  over  on  every 
side.  Venice  and  Amsterdam  appear  to  me  better  protected 
against  the  sea  than  St.  Petersburg. 

The  vicinity  of  a  river  large  as  a  lake,  and  which  flows  on  a 
level  with  the  land  through  a  marshy  plain,  lost  in  the  midst  of 
the  atmosphere  and  the  vapours  of  the  sea,  was  assuredly  of  all 
the  sites  in  the  world  the  least  favourable  for  the  foundation  of  a 
capital.  The  water  will  here,  sooner  or  later,  teach  a  lesson  to 
human  pride.  The  granite  itself  is  no  security  against  the  work 
of  winters  in  this  humid  ice-house,  where  the  foundations  of  rock 
and  the  ramparts  of  the  famous  citadel  built  by  Peter  the  Great, 
have  already  twice  given  way.  They  have  been  repaired,  and 
will  be  yet  again  in  order  to  preserve  this  c/tef-d'ceuvre  of  human 
pride  and  human  will. 

I  wished  at  once  to  cross  the  bridge,  in  order  to  examine  it 
more  nearly  ;  but  my  servant  first  conducted  me  in  face  of  the  for- 
tress, to  the  house  of  Peter  the  Great,  which  is  separated  from  it 
by  a  road  and  an  open  piece  of  ground. 

It  is  a  cabin,  preserved,  as  is  said,  in  the  same  state  as  that 
in  which  the  Emperor  left  it.     In  the  citadel  the  emperors  are 
now  buried,  and  the  prisoners  of  state  detained — singular  man- 
3* 


68  RUSSIAN    VETERANS. 

ner  of  honouring  the  dead !  In  thinking  of  all  the  tears  shed 
there,  under  the  tombs  of  the  sovereigns  of  Russia,  one  is  re- 
minded of  the  funerals  of  some  Asian  kings.  A  tomb  bedewed 
with  blood  would,  in  my  eyes,  be  less  impious  :  tears  flow  for  a 
longer  period,  arid  are  perhaps  accompanied  with  deeper  pangs. 

During  the  time  that  the  imperial  artizan  inhabited  the  cabin, 
his  future  capital  was  being  built  beneath  his  eye.  It  should  be 
admitted  in  his  praise,  that,  at  that  period,  he  thought  much  less 
of  the  palace  than  of  the  city. 

One  of  the  chambers  of  this  illustrious  cottage — that,  namely, 
which  was  the  workshop  of  the  princely  carpenter — is  now  trans- 
formed into  a  chapel.  It  is  entered  with  as  much  reverence  as 
are  the  most  sacred  churches  in  the  empire.  The  Russians  are 
ever  ready  to  make  saints  of  their  heroes.  They  delight  in  con- 
founding the  dreadful  virtues  of  their  masters  with  the  benevo- 
lent power  of  their  patrons,  and  endeavour  to  view  the  cruelties 
of  history  through  the  veil  of  faith. 

Another  Russian  hero,  in  my  opinion  little  deserving  of  ad- 
miration, has  been  sanctified  by  the  Greek  priests ;  I  mean  Alex- 
ander Newski — a  model  of  prudence,  but  a  martyr  neither  to 
piety  nor  to  generosity.  The  national  church  has  canonised  this 
AVISO  rather  than  heroic  prince — this  Ulysses  among  the  saints. 
An  enormous  convent  has  been  built  around  his  relieves. 

The  tomb,  enclosed  within  the  church  of  Saint  Alexander, 
is  in  itself  an  edifice.  ,  It  consists  of  an  altar  of  massive  silver, 
surmounted  with  a  species  of  pyramid  of  the  same  metal,  which 
rises  to  the  vault  of  a  vast  church.  The  convent,  the  church, 
and  the  cenotaph,  form  one  of  the  wonders  of  Russia.  I  con- 
templated them  with  more  astonishment  than  admiration  ;  for 
tiiougti  the  costliness  of  this  pious  work  is  immense,  the  rules  of 
taste  and  of  art  have  been  little  heeded  in  its  coastruction. 

In  the  cabin  of  the  Czar,  I  was  shown  a  boat  of  his  own  build- 
ing, and  several  other  objects  religiously  preserved,  and  placed 
under  the  guard  of  a  veteran  soldier.  In  Russia,  churches, 
palaces,  public  places,  and  many  private  houses,  are  entrusted 
to  the  keeping  of  military  pensioners.  These  unfortunate  be- 
ings would  be  left  without  means  of  subsistence  in  their  old  age, 
unless  they  were,  on  leaving  the  barracks,  converted  into  por- 
ters. In  such  posts  they  retain  their  long  military  capotes, 
which  are  made  of  coarse  wool,  and  are  generally  much  worn  and 
dirty.  At  each  visit  that  you  make,  men,  thus  clad,  receive  you 
at  the  gates  of  the  public  buildings,  and  at  the  doors  of  the 
houses.  They  are  spectres  in  uniform  that  serve  to  remind  one 


RUSSIAN    FAITH    IN    THE    FUTURE.  59 

of  the  discipline  which  here  rules  over  every  thing.  Petersburg 
is  a  camp  metamorphosed  into  a  city.  The  veteran  who  kept 
guard  in  the  imperial  cottage,  after  having  lighted  several  wax- 
tapers  in  the  chapel,  led  me  to  the  sleeping  apartment  of  Peter 
the  Great,  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias.  A  carpenter  of  our  days 
would  not  lodge  his  apprentice  in  such  a  place. 

This  glorious  austerity  illustrates  the  epoch  and  the  country 
as  much  as  the  man.  In  Russia,  at  that  period,  every  thing 
was  sacrificed  to  the  future  ;  all  were  employed  in  building  the 
palaces  of  their  yet  unborn  masters  ;  and  the  original  founders 
of  the  magnificent  edifices,  not  experiencing  themselves  the  wants 
of  luxury,  were  content  to  be  the  purveyors  of  the  future  civil- 
ization, and  took  pride  in  preparing  fitting  abodes  for  the  un- 
known potentates  who  were  to  follow  them.  There  is  certainly 
a  greatness  of  mind  evinced  in  this  care  which  a  chieftain  and 
his  people  take  for  the  power,  and  even  the  vanity,  of  the  gene- 
rations that  are  yet  to  come.  The  reliance  which  the  living 
have  thus  placed  in  the  glory  of  their  distant  posterity  has  some- 
thing about  it  which  is  noble  and  original.  It  is  a  disinterested 
and  poetical  sentiment,  far  loftier  than  the  respect  which  men 
and  nations  are  accustomed  to  entertain  for  their  ancestors. 

Elsewhere,  great  cities  abound  with  monuments  raised  in 
memory  of  the  past.  St.  Petersburg,  in  all  its  magnificence  and 
immensity,  is  a  trophy  raised  by  the  Russians  to  the  greatness  of 
the  future.  The  hope  which  produces  such  efforts  appears  to  me 
sublime.  Never,  since  the  construction  of  the  Jewish  temple,  has 
the  faith  of  a  people  in  its  own  destinies  raised  up  from  the  earth 
a  greater  wonder  than  St.  Petersburg.  And  what  renders  more 
truly  admirable  this  legacy  left  by  one  man  to  his  ambitious 
country,  is,  that  it  has  been  ratified  by  history. 

The  prophecy  of  Peter  the  Giant,  sculptured  upon  blocks  of 
granite  reared  in  the  sea,  has  been  fulfilled  before  the  eyes  of  the 
universe.  This  is  the  first  instance  in  which  pride  has  appeared 
to  me  really  worthy  of  admiration. 

The  history  of  Russia  does  not,  however,  date,  as  the  ignorant 
and  superficial  in  Europe  seem  to  suppose,  from  the  reign  of 
Peter  I. ;  it  is  Moscow  which  explains  St.  Petersburg. 

The  deliverance  of  Muscovy,  after  long  ages  of  invasion,  and, 
afterwards,  the  siege  and  capture  of  Kasan  by  Ivan  the  Terrible, 
the  determined  struggles  with  Sweden,  and  many  other  brilliant 
as  well  as  patient  deeds  of  arms,  justified  the  proud  attitude  of 
Peter  the  Great,  and  the  humble  confidence  of  his  people.  Faith 
in  the  unknown  is  always  imposing.  This  man  of  iron  had  a 


60  THE    IMPERIAL    TOMBS. 

right  to  put  his  trust  in  the  future  :  characters  like  his  produce 
those  results  which  others  only  imagine.  I  can  see  him,  in  all 
the  simplicity  of  greatness,  seated  in  the  threshold  of  this  cabin, 
planning  and  preparing  against  Europe,  a  city,  a  nation,  and  a 
history.  The  grandeur  of  Petersburg  is  not  unmeaning.  This 
mighty  metropolis,  ruling  over  its  icy  marshes,  in  order  from 
thence  to  rule  the  world,  is  superb — more  superb  to  the  mind 
than  to  the  eye  !  Yet  it  may  not  be  forgotten,  that  one  hundred 
thousand  men,  victims  of  obedience,  were  lost  in  converting  the 
pestilential  swamps  into  a  capital ! 

Germany  is  at  present  witnessing  the  accomplishment  of  a 
masterpiece  of  critical  art — one  of  its  cities  is  being  learnedly 
transformed  into  a  city  of  ancient  Greece  or  Italy.  But  New 
Munich  wants  an  ancient  population ;  Petersburg  was  wanted  by 
the  modern  Russians. 

On  leaving  the  house  of  Peter  the  Great,  I  again  passed  be- 
fore the  bridge  of  the  Neva  (which  leads  to  the  Islands),  and 
entered  the  celebrated  fortress  of  Petersburg. 

I  have  already  remarked  that  this  edifice,  of  which  the  name 
alone  inspires  fear,  has  twice  had  its  ramparts  and  its  granite 
foundations  undermined,  although  it  is  not  yet  140  years  old. 
What  a  struggle  !  The  stones  here  seem  to  suffer  violence  like 
the  men. 

I  was  not  permitted  to  see  the  prisons  ;  there  are  dungeons 
under  the  water,  and  there  are  others  under  the  roofs :  all  of 
which  are  full  of  human  beings.  I  was  only  allowed  to  inspect 
the  church,  which  encloses  the  tombs  of  the  reigning  family.  My 
eyes  were  on  these  tombs  while  I  was  yet  searching  for  them,  so 
difficult  was  it  to  imagine  that  a  square  stone,  of  about  the  length 
and  breadth  of  a  bed,  newly  covered  with  a  green  cloth  em- 
broidered with  the  imperial  arms,  could  be  the  cemetery  of  the 
Empress  Catherine  I.,  of  Peter  I.,  Catherine  II.,  and  of  so  many 
other  princes,  down  to  the  Emperor  Alexander. 

,  The  Greek  religion  banishes  sculpture  from  its  churches,  by 
which  they  lose  in  pomp  and  religious  magnificence  more  than 
they  gain  in  mystical  character  ;  *  while  at  the  same  time  it  ac- 
commodates itself  to  gilt  work,  chasings,  and  to  pictures  which 
do  riot  show  a  very  pure  taste.  The  Greeks  are  the  children  of 
the  Iconoclasts. f  In  Russia  they  have  ventured  to  mitigate  the 
doctrine  of  their  fathers  ;  but  they  might  have  gone  further  than 
they  have  done. 

*  En  mysticitl  f  Destroyers  of  images. 


PRECARIOUS    TOLERATION.  61 

In  this  funeral  citadel,  the  dead  appeared  to  rne  more  free  than 
the  living.  If  it  had  been  a  philosophical  idea  which  suggested 
the  enclosing  in  the  same  tomb  the  prisoners  of  the  Emperor  and 
the  prisoners  of  death — the  conspirators,  and  the  monarch  against 
whom  they  conspired — I  should  respect  it ;  but  I  see  in  it  nothing 
more  than  the  cynicism  of  absolute  power — the  brutal  security 
of  a  despotism  which  feels  itself  safe.  Strong  in  its  superhuman 
power,  it  rises  above  the  little  humane  delicacies,  the  observance 
of  which  is  advisable  in  common  governments.  A  Russian  em- 
peror is  so  full  of  what  is  due  to  himself  that  he  cannot  afford 
to  have  his  justice  lost  sight  of  in  that  of  God's.  We  royalist 
revolutionaries  of  Western  Europe  see  only  in  a  prisoner  of  state 
at  Petersburg  an  innocent  victim  of  despotism ;  the  Russians 
view  him  as  a  reprobate.  Every  sound  appeared  to  me  a  c"om- 
plaint;  the  stones  groaned  beneath  my  feet.  Oh,  how  I  pity  the 
prisoners  of  this  fortress  !  If  the  existence  of  the  Russians  con- 
fined under  the  earth,  is  to  be  judged  of  by  inferences  drawn 
from  the  existence  of  the  Russians  who  live  above,  there  is,  in- 
deed, cause  to  shudder  !  A  thrill  of  horror  passed  through  me 
as  I  thought  that  the  most  steadfast  fidelity,  the  most  scrupulous 
probity,  could  secure  no  man  from  the  subterranean  prisons  of 
the  citadel  of  Petersburg,  and  my  heart  dilated,  and  my  respi- 
ration came  more  freely,  as  I  repassed  the  moats  which  defend 
this  gloomy  abode,  and  separate  it  from  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Who  would  not  pity  the  Russian  people  ?  They,  I  speak 
now  of  the  higher  classes,  are  living  under  the  influences  of  an 
ignorance  and  of  prejudices  which  they  no  longer  possess.  The 
affectation  of  resignation  is  the  lowest  depth  of  abjectness  into 
which  an  enslaved  nation  can  fall :  revolt  or  despair  would  be 
doubtless  more  terrible,  but  less  ignominious.  Weakness  so  de- 
graded that  it  dare  not  indulge  itself  even  in  complaint,  that  con- 
solation of  the  lower  animal  creation,  fear  calmed  by  its  own 
excess — these  are  moral  phenomena  which  cannot  be  witnessed 
without  calling  forth  tears  of  horror. 

After  visiting  the  sepulchre  of  the  Russian  sovereigns,  I  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Catholic  church,  the  services  of  which  are  con- 
ducted by  Dominican  monks.  I  went  there  to  demand  a  mass 
for  an  anniversary  which  none  of  my  travels  have  hitherto  pre- 
vented my  commemorating  in  a  Catholic  church.  The  Domini- 
can convent  is  situated  in  the  Newski  Prospect,  the  finest  street 
in  Petersburg.  The  church  is  not  magnificent,  but  decent ;  the 
cloisters  are  solitary,  the  courts  encumbered  with  rubbish  of 
mason  work.  An  air  of  gloom  reigns  through  the  community, 


62  TOMBS    OF    PONIATOWSKI    AND    MOREAU. 

which,  notwithstanding  the  toleration  it  enjoys,  appears  to  possess 
little  wealth,  and  still  less  sense  of  security.  In  Russia,  tolera- 
tion has  no  guarantee,  either  in  public  opinion,  or  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  state :  like  every  thing  else  it  is  a  favour  conceded 
by  one  man  ;  and  that  man  may  withdraw  to-morrow  what  he  has 
granted  to-day. 

While  waiting  for  the  prior  in  the  church,  I  saw  beneath  my 
feet  a  stone  on  which  was  inscribed  a  name  that  awoke  in  me 
some  emotion — Poniatowski  !  the  royal  victim  of  folly.  That 
too  credulous  lover  of  Catherine  II.  is  buried  here  without  any 
mark  of  distinction  ;  but  though  despoiled  of  the  majesty  of  the 
throne,  there  remains  for  him  the  majesty  of  misfortune.  The 
troubles  of  this  prince,  his  blind  fatuity  punished  so  cruelly,  and 
the  perfidious  policy  of  his  enemies,  draw  the  attention  of  all 
Christians,  and  of  all  travellers  to  his  obscure  tomb. 

Near  to  the  exiled  king  has  been  placed  the  mutilated  body 
of  Moreau.  The  Emperor  Alexander  caused  it  to  be  brought 
there  from  Dresden.  The  idea  of  placing  together  the  remains 
of  two  men  so  greatly  to  be  pitied  in  order  to  unite  in  the  same 
prayer  the  memory  of  their  disappointed  destiny,  appears  to  me 
one  of  the  greatest  conceptions  of  this  prince,  who,  be  it  remem- 
bered, was  truly  great  when  he  entered  a  city  from  whence  Na- 
poleon was  flying. 

Towards  four  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  began,  for  the  first 
time,  to  recollect  that  I  had  not  come  to  Russia  merely  to  in- 
spect curious  monuments  of  art,  and  to  enter  into  the  reflections, 
more  or  less  philosophical,  which  they  might  suggest;  and  I  has- 
tened to  the  French  ambassador's. 

There  I  found  my  oversight  had  been  great.  The  marriage 
of  the  Grand  Duchess  Maria  was  to  take  place  on  the  day  after 
the  morrow,  and  I  had  arrived  too  late  to  be  presented  previously. 
To  miss  this  ceremony  of  the  court,  in  a  laud  where  the  court  is 
every  thing,  would  be  to  lose  my  journey. 


VISIT    TO    THE    ISLANDS.  63 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Visit  to  the  Islands.— Character  of  the  Scenery.— Artificial  Beauties.— Comparison  between 
Russian  and  English  Taste.— Aim  and  Characteristics  of  Russian  Civilization  — Happiness 
impossible  in  Russia.— Fashionable  Life  in  St.  Petersburg.— Equality  under  Despotism.— 
Characteristic  traits  of  Russian  Society.— Absolute  Power —Pavilion  of  the  Empress.— 
Vermin  in  the  Houses  and  Palaces  of  St.  Petersburg.— Costume  of  the  lower  Orders. — 
Beauty  of  the  Men  when  of  pure  Slavonian  Race.— The  Women.— Condition  of  the  Russian 
Peasantry.— The  Sale  of  Serfs.— Commerce  can  alone  alter  the  present  State  of  Things.— 
Care  taken  to  conceal  the  Truth  from  Foreigners.— Religious  Usurpation  of  Peter  the  Great. 
—His  Character  and  monstrous  Cruelties.— Culpability  of  the  Aristocracy.— The  Author 
suspected. — State  of  Medical  Art  in  Russia. — Universal  Mystery. — Permission  to  be  present 
at  the  Marriage  of  the  Grand  Duchess. 

I  AM  just  returned  from  visiting  the  Islands.  They  form  an 
agreeable  marsh;  never  was  the  vase  better  concealed  by  the 
flowers.  A  shallow,  left  dry  during  the  summer,  owing  to  the 
channels  that  intersect  it  serving  as  drains  to  the  soil,  planted 
with  superb  groves  of  birch,  and  covered  with  numerous  charming 
villas — such  is  the  tract  called  the  Islands.  The  avenues  of 
birch,  which,  together  with  pines,  are  the  only  trees  indigenous  to 
these  icy  plains,  create  an  illusion  that  might  lead  a  traveller  to 
imagine  himself  in  an  English  park.  This  vast  garden,  over- 
spread with  "  villas  "  and  "  cottages"  serves  instead  of  the  coun- 
try for  the  inhabitants  of  Petersburg  :  it  is  the  camp  of  the  cour- 
tiers, thickly  inhabited  during  a  brief  portion  of  the  year,  and 
totally  deserted  during  the  remainder. 

The  district  of  the  Islands  is  reached  by  various  excellent 
carriage  roads,  connected  with  bridges  thrown  over  the  different 
arms  of  the  sea. 

In  wandering  along  its  shady  alleys,  it  is  not  difficult  to  ima- 
gine one's  self  in  the  country,  but  it  is  a  monotonous  and  artificial 
country.  No  undulations  of  the  ground,  always  the  same  kind 
of  trees, — how  is  it  possible  to  produce  pictorial  effect  from  ^uch 
materials!  Under  this  zone,  the  plants  of  the  hot-house,  tlie 
fruit  of  the  tropics,  and  even  the  gold  and  precious  stones  of  the 
mines,  are  less  rare  than  our  commonest  forest  trees.  With 
wealth,  every  thing  may  be  procured  here  that  can  exist  under 
glass,  and  this  is  much  towards  furnishing  the  scenery  of  a  fairy 
tale,  but  it  is  not  sufficient  to  make  a  park.  One  of  the  groves  of 
chestnut  or  beech  which  beautify  our  hills  would  be  a  marvel  in 
Petersburg.  Italian  houses  surrounded  by  Laponian  trees,  and 
filled  with  the  flowers  of  all  countries,  form  a  contrast  which  is 
singular  rather  than  agreeable. 

The  Parisians,  who  never  forget  Paris,  call  the  tract  of  the 
Islands  the  Russian  Champs  Elysees,  but  it  is  larger,  more  rural, 


64  ARTIFICIAL    BEAUTIES. 

and  yet  more  adorned  and  more  artificial  than  our  Parisian  pro- 
menade. It  is  also  further  distant  from  the  fashionable  quarters, 
and  includes  both  town  arid  country.  At  one  moment,  you  may 
suppose  yourself  looking  upon  real  woods,  fields  and  villages  ;  in 
the  next,  the  view  of  houses  in  the  shape  of  temples,  of  pilasters 
forming  the  framework  of  hot-houses,  of  colonnaded  palaces,  of 
theatres  with  antique  peristyles,  prove  that  you  have  not  left  the 
city. 

The  Russians  are  rightly  proud  of  a  garden  raised. at  so  much 
expense  on  the  spongy  soil  of  Petersburg.  But  if  Nature  is  con- 
quered, she  remembers  her  defeat,  and  submits  with  a  bad  grace. 
Happy  the  lands  where  heaven  and  earth  unite  and  mutually  vie 
in  embellishing  the  abodes  of  man,  and  in  rendering  his  life  plea- 
sant and  easy ! 

I  should  insist  less  on  the  disadvantages  of  this  unfavoured 
land,  I  should  not  regret  so  greatly,  while  travelling  in  the 
North,  the  sun  of  the  South,  if  the  Russians  affected  less  to 
undervalue  the  gifts  of  which  their  country  is  deprived.  Their 
perfect  content  extends  even  to  the  climate  and  the  soil ;  natu- 
rally given  to  boasting,  they  have  the  folly  to  glory  even  in  the 
physical  as  well  as  the  social  aspect  which  surrounds  them.  These 
pretensions  prevent  my  bearing  as  resignedly  as  I  ought  to  do, 
and  as  I  had  intended,  with  all  the  inconveniences  of  northern 
countries. 

The  delta  formed  between  the  city  and  one  of  the  embouchures 
of  the  Neva,  is  now  entirely  covered  by  this  species  of  park  ;  it  is 
nevertheless  included  within  the  precincts  of  Petersburg  :  the 
Russian  cities  embrace  the  country  also.  This  tract  would  have 
become  one  of  the  most  populous  quarters  of  the  new  capital,  had 
the  plan  of  the  founder  been  more  exactly  followed.  But,  little 
by  little,  Petersburg  receded  from  the  river,  southward,  in  the 
hope  of  escaping  the  inundations  ;  and  the  marshy  isles  have  been 
reserved  exclusively  for  the  summer  residences  of  the  most  distin- 
guished courtiers.  These  residences  are  half-concealed  by  water 
and  snow  for  nine  months  of  the  year,  during  which  time  tho 
wolves  roam  freely  round  the  pavilion  of  the  Empress:  but  during 
the  remaining  three  months,  nothing  can  exceed  the  profusion  of 
flowers  which  the  houses  exhibit.  Nevertheless,  under  all  this 
factitious  elegance,  the  character  of  the  people  betrays  itself;  a 
passion  for  display  is  the  ruling  passion  of  the  Russians  :  thus, 
in  their  drawing-rooms,  the  flowers  are  not  disposed  in  such 
manner  as  may  render  the  interior  of  the  apartment  more  agree- 
able, but  so  as  to  attract  admiration  from  without ;  precisely  the 


RUSSIAN    AND    ENGLISH    TASTE.  65 

contrary  to  what  we  see  in  England,  where,  above  all  things, 
people  shrink  from  hanging  out  a  sign  in  the  streets.  The  English 
are,  of  all  the  people  on  the  earth,  those  who  have  best  known 
how  to  substitute  taste  for  style  :  their  public  buildings  are  ckcfs- 
d^oeuvre  of  the  ridiculous  5  their  private  houses  are  models  of 
elegance  and  good  sense. 

Among  the  Islands,  all  the  houses  and  all  the  roads  resemble 
each  other.  The  shade  of  the  birch  trees  is  transparent,  but 
under  the  sun  of  the  North  a  very  thick  foliage  is  not  required. 
Canals,  lakes,  meadows,  groves,  cottages,  villas  and  alleys,  fol- 
low each  other  in  constant  succession.  This  dreamy  landscape 
pleases  without  interesting,  without  piquing  the  curiosity  ;  but  it 
gives  the  idea  of  repose,  and  repose  is  a  precious  thing  at  the 
Court  of  Russia,  even  though  it  be  not  valued  there  as  it  ought 
to  be. 

A  distant  pine  forest  rears  at  intervals  its  thin  and  spiry 
foliage  above  the  roofs  of  some  villas,  built  of  planks  and  painted. 
These  remembrances  of  solitude  pierce  through  the  ephemeral 
gaiety  of  the  gardens,  as  though  to  witness  to  the  rigor  of  win- 
ter, and  the  neighbourhood  of  Finland. 

The  aim  of  civilization  in  the  North  is  serious.  There  so- 
ciety is  the  fruit,  not  of  human  pleasures,  not  of  interests  and 
passions  easily  satisfied,  but  of  a  will,  ever  persisting  and  ever 
thwarted,  which  urges  the  people  to  incomprehensible  efforts. 
There,  if  individuals  unite  together,  it  is  to  struggle  with  a  re- 
bellious nature,  which  unwillingly  responds  to  the  demands  made 
upon  her. 

This  dulness  and  stubbornness  in  the  external  world  engender 
a  gloom  which  accounts  to  me  for  the  tragedies  in  the  political 
world  so  frequent  at  this  court.  Here  the  drama  is  enacted  in 
actual  life,  whilst  the  theatre  is  occupied  with  farce.  Empty 
amusements  are  those  alone  permitted  in  Russia.  Under  such 
an  order  of  things,  real  life  is  too  serious  an  affair  to  allow  of  a 
grave  and  thoughtful  literature.  Low  comedy,  the  idyll,  and  the 
apologue  well  veiled,  can  alone  flourish  in  presence  of  so  terrible 
a  reality.  If  in  this  inhospitable  clime  the  precautions  of  despo- 
tism shall  yet  further  increase  the  difficulties  of  existence,  all 
happiness  will  be  taken  from  man — repose  will  become  impossi- 
ble. Peace,  felicity — these  words  here  are  as  vague  as  is  that 
of  Paradise.  Idleness  without  ease,  inertia  without  quiet — such 
are  the  inevitable  results  of  the  Boreal  Autocracy. 

The  Russians  enjoy  but  very  little  of  the  country  which  they 
have  created  at  the  gate  of  their  city.  The  women  pass  the  sum- 


66  FASHIONABLE    LIFE    IN    ST.    PETERSBURG. 

mer  at  the  Islands,  and  the  winter  in  Petersburg.  They  rise 
late,  spend  the  day  at  their  toilets,  the  evening  in  visits,  and  the 
night  at  play.  To  forget  themselves,  to  lose  themselves  in  a 
round  of  excitement,  is  the  apparent  end  of  their  existence. 

The  summer  of  the  Islands  commences  in  the  middle  of  June 
and  lasts  till  the  end  of  August.  During  these  two  months  there 
is  not  generally  (though  with  the  exception  of  the  present  year) 
more  than  a  week  of  hot  weather.  The  evenings  are  damp,  the 
night  atmosphere  clear,  but  cloudy  above,  the  days  grey  and 
misty.  Life  would  here  become  insupportably  dull  and  melan- 
choly to  the  individual  who  should  allow  himself  to  reflect.  In 
Russia,  to  converse  is  to  conspire,  to  think  is  to  revolt :  thought 
is  not  merely  a  crime,  it  is  a  misfortune  also. 

Man  thinks  only  with  a  view  of  ameliorating  his  lot  and  that 
of  his  fellows,  but  when  he  can  do  nothing  and  change  nothing, 
thought  does  but  prey  upon  and  envenom  the  mind,  for  lack  of 
other  employment.  This  is  the  reason  why,  in  the  Russian  world 
of  fashion,  people  of  all  ages  join  in  the  dance. 

As  soon  as  the  summer  is  over,  a  rain,  fine  as  the  points  of 
needles,  falls  for  weeks  without  any  cessation.  In  two  days  the 
birch  trees  of  the  isles  may  be  seen  stript  of  their  leaves,  the 
houses  of  their  flowers  and  their  inhabitants,  and  the  roads  and 
bridges  are  crowded  with  carriages,  drowskas,  and  carts  engaged 
in  the  removal  of  furniture,  all  the  different  kinds  of  which  are 
heaped  together  with  a  slovenliness  and  disorder  natural  to  the 
Slavonian  race.  It  is  thus  that  the  rich  man  of  the  North,  awak- 
ing from  the  too  fleeting  illusions  of  his  summer,  flies  before  the 
north-east  wind,  leaving  the  bears  and  wolves  to  re-enter  into 
possession  of  their  legitimate  domain.  Silence  resumes  its  an- 
cient rights  over  these  icy  swamps,  and  for  nine  months,  the  friv- 
olous society  of  the  city  of  wood  take  refuge  in  the  city  of  stone. 
From  this  change  of  season  they  experience  little  inconvenience  ; 
for  in  Petersburg  the  snows  of  the  winter  nights  reflect  almost  as 
much  light  as  is  shed  by  the  summer's  sun,  and  the  Russian 
stoves  give  more  heat  than  its  obliquely  falling  rays. 

That  which  yearly  occurs  in  the  Islands  will  be  the  fate  one 
day  of  the  entire  city.  Should  this  capital,  without  roots  in  his- 
tory, be  forgotten  for  even  a  brief  space  by  the  sovereign,  should 
a  new  policy  direct  his  attention  elsewhere,  the  granite  hid  under 
the  water  would  crumble  away,  the  inundated  low  lands  would 
return  to  their  natural  state,  and  the  guests  of  solitude  would 
again  take  possession  of  their  lair. 

These  ideas  occupy  the  mind  of  every  foreigner  who  traverses 


VIEW    OF    SOCIETY    IN    RUSSIA.  67 

the  streets  of  Petersburg;  no  one  believes  in  the  duration  of  the 
marvellous  city.  But  little  meditation  (and  what  traveller  wor- 
thy of  his  occupation  does  not  meditate  ?)  enables  the  mind  to 
prefigure  such  a  war,  such  a  change  in  the  course  of  policy,  as 
would  cause  this  creation  of  Peter  I.  to  disappear  like  a  soap 
bubble  in  the  air. 

In  no  other  place  have  I  been  so  impressed  with  the  instabil- 
ity of  human  things.  Often  in  Paris  and  in  London  have  I  said 
to  myself,  a  time  will  come  when  this  noisy  abode  will  be  more 
silent  than  Athens  or  Rome,  Syracuse  or  Carthage ;  but  to  no 
man  is  it  given  to  foresee  the  hour  or  the  immediate  cause  of  the 
destruction ;  whereas  the  disappearing  of  St.  Petersburg  may  be 
foreseen,  it  may  take  place  to-morrow,  in  the  midst  of  the  trium- 
phant songs  of  its  victorious  people.  The  decline  of  other  capi- 
tals follows  the  destruction  of  their  inhabitants,  but  this  will  per- 
ish at  the  moment  even  when  the  Russians  will  see  their  power 
extending.  I  believe  in  the  duration  of  Petersburg,  just  as  I 
believe  in  that  of  a  political  system,  or  in  the  constancy  of  man. 
This  is  what  cannot  be  said  of  any  other  city  in  the  world. 

What  a  tremendous  power  is  that  which  can  thus  cause  a 
metropolis  to  spring  up  in  the  wilderness,  and  which,  with  one 
word,  can  restore  to  solitude  all  that  it  has  taken  !  Here  real 
existence  seems  to  belong  only  to  the  sovereign  :  the  fate,  the 
power,  the  will  of  an  entire  people  are  all  centred  in  one  single 
head.  The  Emperor  is  the  personitication  of  social  power ;  be- 
neath him  reigns  the  equality  that  forms  the  dream  of  the  modern 
Gallo-American  democrats,  the  Fourrierists,  &c.  But  the  Rus- 
sians acknowledge  a  cause  of  storm  that  is  unknown  to  others,  the 
wrath  of  this  Emperor.  Republican  or  monarchial  tyranny  is 
preferable  to  autocratic  equality.  I  fear  nothing  so  much  as  a 
strict  logic  applied  to  politics.  If  France  has  been  practically 
prosperous  during  the  last  ten  years,  it  is,  perhaps,  because  the 
apparent  absurdity  which  presides  over  her  affairs  is  a  high  prac- 
tical wisdom  :  action,  instead  of  speculation,  now  governs  us. 

In  Russia  the  spirit  of  despotism  always  exerts  itself  with  a 
mathematical  rigour,  and  the  result  of  such  extreme  proceeding 
is  an  extreme  oppression.  In  beholding  this  effect  of  an  inflexi- 
ble policy,  we  feel  shocked,  and  ask  ourselves,  with  a  kind  of  ter- 
ror, how  comes  it  that  there  is  so  little  humanity  in  the  actions 
of  man?  But  to  tremble  is  not  to  disdain;  we  never  despise 
that  which  excites  our  fear. 

In  contemplating  Petersburg,  and  in  reflecting  on  the  dread- 
ful existence  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  camp  of  granite,  one  might 


68  ABSOLUTE    POWER. 

be  lod  to  doubt  the  compassion  of  the  Deity.  There  is  here  pre- 
sented a  mystery  that  is  incomprehensible,  and  at  the  same  time 
a  greatness  that  is  prodigious.  Despotism  thus  organized  be- 
comes an  inexhaustible  subject  for  observation  and  meditation. 
This  colossal  empire,  which  rises  before  me  all  at  once  in  the  east 
of  Europe — of  that  Europe,  where  society  is  suffering  from  the  de- 
cay of  all  recognized  authority — appears  to  me  like  a  resurrec- 
tion. I  feel  as  though  in  the  presence  of  some  nation  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  I  stop  with  fear,  mingled  with  curiosity,  before 
the  feet  of  the  ante-diluviau  giant. 

The  first  view  of  society  in  Russia  shows  that  its  arrange- 
ments, as  contrived  by  the  Russians  themselves,  are  only  adapted 
to  their  own  social  system  :  he  must  be  a  Russian  who  would  live 
in  Russia,  even  though  outwardly  every  thing  may  appear  to  pass 
as  in  other  places.  The  difference  lies  in  the  foundations  of 
things. 

It  was  a  review  of  the  fashionable  world  which  I  took  this 
evening  at  the  Islands.  The  fashionable  world,  they  say,  is  the 
same  every  where  ;  nevertheless  each  society  has  a  soul,  and  this 
soul  will  be  instructed,  like  any  other,  by  the  fairy  which  is 
called  civilization,  and  which  is  nothing  more  than  the  customs 
of  the  age. 

This  evening,  all  the  city  of  Petersburg,  that  is  to  say,  the 
court  and  its  followers,  were  at  the  Islands ;  not  for  the  pure 
pleasure  of  promenading  on  a  fine  day,  such  a  pleasure  would  ap- 
pear insipid  to  the  Russian  courtiers,  but  to  see  the  packet-boat 
of  the  Empress,  a  spectacle  of  which  they  never  tire.  Here 
every  sovereign  is  a  god,  every  princess  is  an  Armida  or  a  Cleo- 
patra. The  train  of  these  changeable  divinities  never  changes  : 
it  is  composed  of  a  people  ever  equally  faithful ;  the  reigning 
prince  is  always  in  the  fashion  with  the  Russian  people. 

Nevertheless,  these  submissive  men,  let  them  say  and  do  their 
best,  are  forced  and  constrained  in  their  enthusiasm.  A  people 
without  liberty  has  instincts  but  not  sentiments  ;  and  their  in- 
stincts often,  manifest  themselves  in  an  officious  and  little  delicate 
manner.  The  emperors  of  Russia  must  be  overwhelmed  with  sub- 
mission :  sometimes  the  incense  wearies  the  idol.  In  fact,  such 
worship  admits  of  terrible  interludes.  The  Russian  government 
is  an  absolute  monarchy  moderated  by  assassination ;  and  when 
the  prince  is  not  under  the  influence  of  lassitude,  he  is  under 
that  of  terror.  He  lives,  therefore,  between,  fear  and  disgust. 
If  the  pride  of  the  despot  must  have  slaves,  the  feelings  of  the 
man  must  yearn  for  equals ;  but  a  czar  has  no  equals  :  etiquette 


FILTHY    HOUSES    AND    PALACES.  C9 

and  jealousy  maintain  invidious  guard  around  bis  solitary  heart. 
He  is  more  to  be  pitied  than  even  his  people,  especially  if  he 
possesses  any  amiable  qualities. 

I  hear  much  boast  made  of  the  domestic  happiness  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas,  but  I  sec  in  it  the  consolations  of  a  superior 
mind,  rather  than  the  proof  of  real  happiness.  Consolation  is  not 
felicity  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  remedy  proves  the  evil :  an  emperor 
of  Russia  must  have  a  heart  like  other  men  if  he  has  one  at  all. 
So  much  for  the  over-lauded  private  virtues  of  the  Emperor 
Nicholas. 

This  evening  the  Empress  having  proceeded  from  Peterhoff 
by  sea,  landed  at  her  pavilion  on  the  Islands,  where  she  will  re- 
main until  the  marriage  of  her  daughter,  which  is  to  be  celebrated 
to-morrow,  in  the  new  Winter  palace.  While  she  remains  at  the 
Islands,  the  leafy  shade  which  surrounds  her  pavilion  serves  as  a 
shelter  during  the  day  for  her  regiment  of  chevalier  guards,  one 
of  the  finest  in  the  army. 

We  arrived  too  late  to  see  her  leave  her  sacred  vessel,  but 
we  found  the  crowd  still  under  the  excitement  caused  by  the 
rapid  transit  of  the  imperial  star.  The  only  tumults  possible  in 
Russia  are  those  caused  by  the  struggles  of  flatterers.  This 
evening,  the  human  effervescence  resembled  the  agitation  of  the 
waves,  that  continue  boiling  in  the  track  of  some  mighty  vessel 
long  after  she  has  entered  port. 

At  last,  then,  I  have  breathed  the  air  of  the  court!  though 
the  deities  who  exhale  it  upon  mortals  are  still  unseen. 

It  is  now  one  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  the  sun  is  about  to  rise, 
and  I  cannot  yet  sleep  ;  I  will,  therefore,  finish  iny  night  as  I 
commenced  it,  by  writing  without  lights. 

Notwithstanding  Russian  pretensions  to  elegance,  foreigners 
cannot  find  in  all  Petersburg  one  hotel  that  is  endurable.  The 
great  lords  bring  with  them,  from  the  interior  of  the  empire,  a 
suite  which  is  always  numerous.  Man  is  their  property  and  their 
luxury.  The  moment  the  valets  are  left  alone  in  the  apartments 
of  their  masters,  they  squat  themselves,  in  oriental  iashion,  on 
the  seats  and  couches,  which  they  fill  with  vermin.  These  crea- 
tures pass  into  the  walls  and  floors,  and  in  a  few  days  the  house 
becomes  infested  past  all  remedy ;  for  the  impossibility  of  airing 
the  houses  in  winter  perpetuates  the  evil  from  year  to  year. 

The  new  imperial  palace,  built  at  such  cost  of  life  and  money, 
is  already  full  of  loathsome  insects.  It  might  be  said,  that  the 
wretched  workmen  who  were  killed,  in  order  to  ornament  \\\i\\ 
greater  celerity  the  habitation  of  their  master,  have  avenged 


70  THE    MEN    AND    WOMEN. 

their  own  death  by  inoculating  with  their  vermin  those  homicidal 
walls.  If  the  palace  is  infected  by  these  nocturnal  foes,  how 
should  I  be  able  to  sleep  at  Coulon's?  I  have  given  up  the  idea: 
but  the  clearness  of  the  night  consoles  me  for  every  thing. 

On  returning  from  the  Islands  about  midnight,  I  again  went 
out  on  foot,  and  occupied  my  mind  with  reviewing  the  scenes  and 
conversations  which  had  most  interested  me  during  the  day ;  of 
these  I  will  presently  give  the  summary. 

My  solitary  walk  led  me  to  the  beautiful  street  called  the 
Newski  Prospect.  I  saw  in  the  twilight,  shining  from  afar,  the 
little  pillars  of  the  tower  of  the  Admiralty,  surmounted  with  its 
lofty  metallic  spire,  a  Christian  minaret  more  taper  than  any 
gothic  steeple.  It  is  gilded  all  over  with  the  gold  of  the  ducats 
sent  as  a  present  to  the  Emperor  Peter  I.  by  the  States  of  the 
Netherlands. 

The  revolting  dirtiness  of  my  inn-chamber,  and  the  almost 
fabulous  magnificence  of  that  building,  present  a  correct  picture 
of  Petersburg.  Contrasts  are  not  wanting  in  a  city  where  Eu- 
rope and  Asia  exhibit  themselves  to  each  other  in  mutual  specta- 
cle. The  people  are  handsome.  The  men  of  pure  Slavonian 
race,  brought  from  the  interior  by  the  rich  nobles,  who  either 
retain  them  in  their  service,  or  permit  them  for  a  certain  period 
to  carry  on  various  trades  in  the  city,  are  remarkable  for  their 
fair  hair,  their  rosy  complexions,  and  yet  more  for  their  perfect 
profiles,  which  equal  those  of  Grecian  statues.  Their  eyes  have 
the  oval  Asiatic  shape,  with  the  colouring  of  the  North  ;  they 
are  generally  of  a  light  blue,  and  unite  a  singular  expression  of 
gentleness,  grace,  and  cunning.  This  expression,  always  restless, 
gives  to  the  iris  those  changing  hues  which  vary  from  the  green 
of  the  serpent,  and  the  grey  of  the  cat,  to  the  black  of  the  ga- 
zelle, though  the  ground  colour  still  remains  blue.  The  mouth, 
adorned  with  a  golden  and  silky  moustache,  is  beautifully  formed, 
and  the  teeth  have  a  brilliant  whiteness  that  lights  up  the  whole 
countenance.  They  are  sometimes  sharp  and  pointed,  when  they 
resemble  those  of  the  tiger,  but  more  commonly  their  shape  is 
perfectly  regular.  The  costume  of  these  men  is  always  original. 
It  consists  either  of  the  Greek  tunic,  with  a  lively-coloured  gir- 
dle, the  Persian  robe,  or  the  short  Russian  pelisse  lined  with 
sheepskin,  the  wool  of  which  is  turned  outwards  or  inwards  ac- 
cording to  the  season. 

The  females  of  the  lower  orders  are  less  handsome  ;  but  few 
are  met  in  the  streets,  and  those  few  present  few  attractions  : 
they  appear  degraded  and  stupified.  It  is  a  singular  fact,  that 


TilK    1'F.ASAXTKY.  7l 

the  men  take  pains  with  their  dress,  and  the  women  neglect  it: 
this  is  perhaps  owing  to  the  former  being  attached  by  service  to 
the  houses  of  the  nobles.  The  latter  have  a  clumsy  gait ;  they 
wear  heavy  boots,  which  deform  the  foot :  their  figures  are  with- 
out elegance  ;  and  their  complexions,  unlike  those  of  the  men, 
lose  all  freshness  and  clearness  even  while  they  are  yet  young. 
Their  little  Russian  coats,  short,  and  open  before,  are  trimmed 
with  fur,  which  is  almost  always  hanging  in  rags.  This  costume 
would  be  pretty  if  it  was  less  shabby,  and  if  the  effect  was  not 
generally  spoilt  by  deformity  or  revolting  dirtiness  of  person. 
The  national  head-dress  of  the  Russian  women  is  handsome,  but 
it  has  become  rare,  being  now  only  worn,  I  am  told,  by  nurses, 
and  by  the  ladies  of  the  court  on  days  of  ceremony.  It  is  a  spe- 
cies of  pasteboard  tower,  gilt,  embroidered,  and  much  widened  at 
the  top. 

The  accoutrements  of  the  horses  are  picturesque,  and  the  ani- 
mals themselves  show  speed  and  blood  ;  but  the  equipages  that 
I  saw  this  evening  at  the  Islands,  not  excepting  those  of  the 
highest  nobles,  were  not  elegant,  nor  even  clean.  This  accounts 
to  me  for  the  disorder  and  carelessness  of  the  servants  of  the  he- 
reditary Grand  Duke,  and  for  the  clumsiness  and  wretched  var- 
nish of  that  prince's  carriages,  which  I  noticed  at  Ems.  Magni- 
ficence on  a  large  scale,  a  gaudy  luxury,  gilded  trappings,  and 
an  air  of  showy  grandeur,  are  natural  to  the  Russian  nobles  ; 
but  elegance,  carefulness,  and  cleanliness,  are  things  unknown. 

I  have  listened  this  evening  to  several  curious  traits,  illus- 
trative of  what  we  call  the  slavery  of  the  Russian  peasants.  It 
is  difficult  for  us  to  form  a  just  idea  of  the  real  position  of  this 
class  of  men,  who  live  in  the  possession  of  no  acknowledged 
rights,  and  who  yet  form  the  nation.  Deprived  of  every  thing 
by  law,  they  are  still  not  so  much  degraded  morally  as  they  are 
socially.  They  have  good  mental  capacity,  and  sometimes  even 
elevation  of  character  ;  but,  nevertheless,  the  principle  which 
chifly  actuates  their  conduct  through  life  is  cunning.  No  one  has 
a  right  to  reproach  them  with  this  too  natural  consequence  of 
their  situation.  Ever  on  their  guard  against  their  masters,  who 
are  constantly  acting  towards  them  with  open  and  shameless  bad 
faith,  they  compensate  themselves  by  artifice  for  what  they  suffer 
through  injustice.  The  relations  between  the  peasantry  and  the 
owner  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  their  less  immediate  relations  with 
the  country,  that  is  to  say,  with  the  Emperor,  would  alone  be  a 
subject  worthy  of  a  long  sojourn  in  the  interior  of  Russia. 

In  many  parts  of  the  empire,  the  peasants  believe  themselves 


72  THE    SALE    OF    SERFS. 

to  belong  to  the  soil,  a  condition  of  existence  "which  appears  to 
them  natural,  even  when  they  have  difficulty  in  understanding 
how  man  can  be  the  property  of  man.  In  many  other  countries 
the  peasants  believe  that  the  soil  belongs  to  them.  Such  are  the 
most  happy,  if  they  are  not  the  most  submissive  of  slaves.  Not 
unfrequently,  the  peasants,  when  about  to  be  sold  send  a  depu- 
tation to  some  far  off  master,  of  whose  character  for  kindness  re- 
ports have  reached  them,  imploring  him  to  buy  them,  their  lands, 
their  children,  and  their  cattle;  and  if  this  lord,  thus  celebrated 
for  his  gentleness,  (I  do  not  say  his  justice,  for  the  sentiment  of 
justice  is  unknown  in  Russia), — if  this  desirable  lord  has  no 
money,  they  provide  him  with  it,  in  order  to  be  sure  of  belonging 
only  to  him.  The  benevolent  lord,  therefore,  buys  his  new  serfs 
with  their  own  money ;  after  which  he  exempts  them  from  taxes 
for  a  certain  number  of  years ;  thus  indemnifying  them  for  the 
price  of  their  bodies,  which  they  have  paid  to  him  in  advance  by 
furnishing  the  sum  that  represents  the  value  of  the  domain  to 
which  they  belong,  and  of  which  they  have,  as  it  were,  obliged 
him  to  become  the  proprietor. 

The  greatest  misfortune  which  can  happen  to  these  vegetat- 
ing men  is  to  see  their  native  fields  sold.  They  are  always  sold 
with  the  glebe,  and  the  only  advantage  they  have  hitherto  derived 
from  the  modern  ameliorations  of  the  law  is,  that  they  cannot  now 
be  sold  without  it.  This  provision  is,  however,  notoriously  evaded. 
Instead,  for  instance,  of  selling  an  entire  estate,  a  few  acres  are 
often  sold  with  one  or  two  hundred  men  per  acre.  If  the  govern 
ment  becomes  aware  of  such  collusion  it  punishes  the  guilty  par- 
ties, but  it  has  seldom  an  opportunity  of  interfering;  for  between 
the  crime  and  the  supreme  authority,  that  is,  the  emperor,  are  a 
whole  multitude  of  people  interested  in  concealing  and  perpetuat- 
ing abuses.  The  proprietors  suffer  as  much  as  the  serfs  from  this 
state  of  things,  especially  those  whose  affairs  are  deranged.  Es- 
tates are  difficult  to  sell ,  so  difficult,  that  a  man  who  owes  debts 
and  is  willing  to  pay  them,  is  finally  obliged  to  have  recourse  to 
the  Imperial  Bank,  where  he  borrows  the  sum  which  he  requires, 
the  Bank  taking  his  property  in  mortgage.  By  this  means  the  Em- 
peror becomes  treasurer  and  creditor  of  all  the  Russian  nobility  ; 
and  the  latter,  thus  curbed  by  supreme  power,  are  placed  in  a 
situation  which  makes  the  fulfilment  of  their  duties  towards  the 
people  impossible. 

On  a  certain  day  a  nobleman  declares  his  intention  of  selling 
an  estate.  The  news  of  this  project  throws  the  district  into  alarm. 
The  peasants  send  to  their  lord  a  deputation  of  the  elders  of 


DREADFUL    STATE    OF    THINGS.  73 

their  village,  who  cast  themselves  at  his  feet,  imploring,  with 
tears,  that  they  may  not  be  sold.  "  It  must  be,"  replies  the  lord  : 
"  I  cannot  conscientiously  augment  the  tax  which  my  peasants 
pay,  and  nevertheless  I  am  not  rich  enough  to  keep  an  estate 
which  scarcely  brings  me  in  any  thing." 

'•'  Is  that  all  ? "  cry  the  deputies ;  "we  then  are  wealthy 
enough  to  enable  you  to  keep  us."  Whereupon,  of  their  own 
free  will,  they  raise  the  rent  to  double  the  amount  which  they 
have  paid  from  time  immemorial.  Other  peasants,  with  less 
gentleness,  and  greater  craft  of  character,  revolt  against  their 
masters,  solely  with  the  hope  of  becoming  serfs  of  the  crown. 
This  is  the  highest  ambition  of  the  Russian  peasant. 

To  emancipate  suddenly  such  men  would  be  to  set  the  coun- 
try on  fire.  The  moment  that  the  serfs,  separated  from  the  land 
to  which  they  are  attached,  were  to  see  it  sold,  let,  or  cultivated 
without  them,  they  would  rise  in  a  mass,  crying  that  they  were 
despoiled  of  their  property. 

It  is  but  a  short  time  ago  that,  in  a  remote  village  which  was 
on  fire,  the  peasants,  who  complained  of  the  tyranny  of  their 
master,  availed  themselves  of  the  disorder  they  had  perhaps  caused 
purposely,  to  seize  his  person,  impale  it,  and  roast  it  in  the  flames 
of  the  conflagration.  For  such  acts  the  Emperor  usually  orders 
the  transportation  of  the  entire  village  to  Siberia.  This  is  called, 
in  Petersburg,  peopling  Asia. 

When  I  reflect  upon  these,  and  a  thousand  other  cruelties, 
which,  with  greater  or  less  secrecy,  take  place  daily  in  the  bosom 
of  this  immense  empire,  where  the  distances  equally  favour  op- 
pression and  revolt,  I  am  ready  to  conceive  a  hatred  against  the 
land,  the  government,  and  the  entire  population:  an  indefinable 
sense  of  uneasiness  takes  possession  of  me,  and  I  think  only  of 
flying. 

The  fortune  of  a  wealthy  man  is  here  computed  by  the  heads 
of  his  peasants.  The  man  who  is  not  free  is  coined  ;  he  is  equi- 
valent (on  an  average)  to  ten  rubles  *  a  year  to  his  proprietor, 
who  is  called  free  because  he  is  the  owner  of  serfs.  There  are 
districts  where  each  peasant  brings  three  and  four  times  this  sum 
to  his  master.  In  Russia,  the  human  money  alters  in  value,  as, 
with  us,  the  land,  which  doubles  in  price,  when  markets  can  be 
opened  for  its  produce.  Here,  I  involuntarily  pass  my  time  in 
calculating  how  many  families  it  has  taken  to  pay  for  a  bonnet, 
a  shawl,  or  a  rose  tree  :  nothing  appears  to  me  as  it  does  else- 

*  The  ruble  is  a  silver  coin  worth  about  3s.  and  3d — Trans. 
4 


74  THE    REALITY    CONCEALED    FROM    FOREIGNERS. 

where ;  everything  seems  tainted  with  blood.  The  number  ot 
human  beings  condemned  to  suffer,  even  unto  death,  in  order  to 
furnish  the  requisite  quantity  of  stuff  which  forms  the  dress  of 
some  lovely  woman  at  court,  occupies  my  thoughts  more  than 
all  her  finery  or  her  beauty.  Absorbed  in  the  labour  of  so  pain- 
ful a  computation,  I  feel  myself  growing  unjust.  The  most 
charming  face  reminds  me,  in  spite  of  my  efforts  to  banish  such 
ideas,  of  those  caricatures  of  Bonaparte  which  were  spread  all 
over  Europe  in  1815.  At  a  little  distance  the  colossal  statue  of 
the  Emperor  appeared  a  simple  likeness,  but,  on  inspecting  it 
more  nearly,  each  feature  was  found  to  be  composed  of  mutilated 
corpses. 

In  all  countries,  the  poor  work  for  the  rich,  who  pay  them 
for  their  labor  ;  but  these  poor  are  not  folded  for  life  in  some  in- 
closures  like  mere  herds  of  cattle ;  and,  though  obliged  to  toil 
at  the  labor  which  provides  their  children  with  daily  bread,  they 
at  least  enjoy  a  semblance  of  liberty  ;  now  semblance,  or  appear- 
ance, is  almost  every  thing  to  a  being  whose  views  are  limited, 
but  whose  imagination  is  boundless.  With  us,  the  hireling  has 
the  right  of  changing  his  employers,  his  residence,  and  even  his 
profession  ;  but  the  Russian  serf  is  a  chattel  of  his  lord's ;  en- 
listed from  birth  to  death  in  the  service,  his  life  represents  to 
this  proprietor  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  sum  necessary  to  supply 
the  caprices  and  fantasies  of  fashion.  Assuredly,  in  a  state  thus 
constituted,  luxury  is  no  longer  innocent.  All  communities  in 
which  a  middle  class  of  society  does  not  exist,  ought  to  proscribe 
luxury  as  a  scandal,  for,  in  well-organized  lands,  it  is  the  profits 
which  that  class  draws  from  the  vanity  of  the  superior  classes 
which  produce  general  opulence.  If,  as  is  anticipated,  Russia 
should  become  a  land  of  industrial  arts,  the  relations  between  the 
serf  and  the  owner  of  the  soil  will  be  modified,  and  a  population 
of  independent  dealers  and  artisans  will  rise  up  between  the  no- 
bles and  the  peasants  j  but,  at  present,  the  commerce  of  the  land 
is  scarcely  born  ;  the  manufacturers,  merchants,  and  tradesmen, 
are  almost  all  Germans. 

It  is  here  only  too  easy  to  be  deceived  by  the  appearances  of 
civilization.  If  you  look  at  the  court  and  the  people  who  are  its 
votaries,  you  may  suppose  yourself  among  a  nation  far  advanced 
in  social  culture  and  political  economy  ;  but  when  you  reflect  on 
the  relations  which  exist  between  the  different  classes  of  society, 
when  you  observe  how  small  is  the  number  of  these  classes— 
finally,  when  you  examine  attentively  the  groundwork  of  manners 
and  of  things,  you  perceive  the  existence  of  a  real  barbarism 
scarcely  disguised  under  a  magnificence  which  is  revolting. 


PETER   THE    GREAT.  ,  75 

I  do  not  reproach  the  Russians  for  being  what  they  are,  what 
I  blame  in  them  is,  their  pretending  to  be  what  we  are.  They 
are  still  uncultivated  ;  this  state  would  at  least  allow  room  for 
hope  ;  but  I  see  them  incessantly  occupied  with  the  desire  of 
mimicking  other  nations,  and  this  they  do  after  the  true  manner 
of  monkeys,  caricaturing  what  they  copy.  They  thus  appear  to 
me  spoilt  for  the  savage  state,  and  yet  wanting  in  the  requisites 
of  civilization  ;  and  the  terrible  words  of  Voltaire  or  of  Diderot, 
now  forgotten  in  France,  recurred  to  my  mind — "  The  Russians 
have  rotted  before  they  have  ripened." 

At  Petersburg,  every  thing  wears  an  air  of  opulence,  gran- 
deur, and  magnificence  ;  but,  if  we  should  take  this  outward  show 
for  reality,  we  should  find  ourselves  strangely  deceived.  General- 
ly, the  first  effect  of  civilization  is  to  render  what  may  be  called 
material  life  easy  ;  but  here  every  thing  is  difficult : — a  cunning 
apathy  is  the  secret  of  existence. 

If  you  wish  to  ascertain  precisely  what  is  to  be  seen  in  this 
great  city,  and  if  Schnitzler  does  not  satisfy  you,  you  will  find 
no  other  guide  ;*  no  bookseller  has  on  sale  a  complete  directory 
to  the  curiosities  of  Petersburg ;  either  the  well-informed  men 
whom  you  question  have  an  interest  in  not  answering  you,  or  they 
have  something  else  to  do.  The  Emperor,  his  health,  his  move- 
ments, the  project  with  which  he  is  ostensibly  occupied,  such  are 
the  only  subjects  worthy  of  the  thoughts  of  a  Russian  who  thinks 
at  all.  The  catechism  of  the  court  is  the  only  necessary  know- 
ledge. All  take  pleasure  in  rendering  themselves  agreeable  to 
their  master,  by  hiding  some  corner  of  truth  from  the  eyes  of 
travellers.  No  one  has  any  idea  of  gratifying  the  curious ;  on 
the  contrary,  they  love  to  deceive  them  by  false  data  :  it  requires 
the  talents  of  a  great  critic  to  travel  to  advantage  in  Russia. 
Under  despotism,  curiosity  is  synonymous  with  indiscretion. 
The  empire  is  the  Emperor 

And  yet  this  frightful  extent  of  greatness  was  not  sufficient  for 
the  Czar  Peter.  That  man,  not  content  with  being  the  reason  of 
his  people,  would  also  become  their  conscience.  The  sovereign 
who  did  not  shrink  before  such  a  responsibility,  and  who,  not- 
withstanding his  long  apparent  or  real  hesitation,  finally  rendered 
himself  culpable  of  so  enormous  an  usurpation,  has  inflicted  more 
evil  on  the  world  by  this  single  outrage  against  the  prerogatives 
of  the  priests,  and  the  religious  liberty  of  man,  than  he  has  con- 

*  Schnitzler  is  author  of  the  best  work  on  Russian  statistics  that  lias 
been  written. 


76       .       CRUELTIES  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT. 

ferred  benefit  on  Russia  by  all  his  warlike  and  political  talents, 
and  his  genius  for  the  arts  of  industry.  That  emperor,  type,  and 
model  of  the  empire,  and  of  the  emperors  in  all  ages,  was  a  singular 
union  of  the  great  and  the  minute.  With  a  lust  for  power,  grasp- 
ing as  that  of  the  most  cruel  tyrants  of  any  age  or  nation,  he 
united  the  ingenuity  of  the  artizan  in  a  degree  that  made  him  the 
rival  of  the  best  mechanics  of  his  times  j  a  sovereign  scrupulously 
terrible,  an  eagle  and  an  ant,  a  lion  and  a  beaver  : — this  mon- 
arch, dreadful  during  life,  now  imposes  himself  on  posterity  as  a 
species  of  saint,  and  tyrannizes  over  the  judgments,  as  he  formerly 
tyrannized  over  the  acts  of  men.  To  pass  an  impartial  opinion 
upon  him  is,  at  the  present  time,  a  sacrilege  which  is  not  without 
danger,  even  for  a  stranger,  in  Russia.  I  brave  this  danger  every 
day;  for  of  all  yokes,  the  most  insupportable  to  me  is  that  which 
imposes  the  necessity  of  admiring.*  In  Russia,  power,  unlimited 
as  it  is,  entertains  an  extreme  dread  of  censure,  or  even  of  free 
speech.  An  oppressor  is  of  all  others  the  man  who  most  fears 
the  truth ;  he  only  escapes  ridicule  by  the  terror  and  mystery 
with  which  he  environs  himself.  Hence  it  is  that  there  must  be 
no  speaking  of  persons  here  :  one  must  not  allude  to  the  maladies 
of  which  the  Emperors  Peter  III.  and  Paul  I.  died,  any  more 
than  to  the  clandestine  amours  that  certain  malevolent  persons 
have  ascribed  to  the  reigning  Emperor.  The  amusements  of 
this  prince  are  viewed  only  as  relaxations  from  the  cares  of 
greatness,  and  with  whatever  consequences  they  may  be  attended 
to  certain  families,  one  must  profess  ignorance  of  them,  under 
pain  of  being  accused  of  the  greatest  of  all  crimes  in  the  eyes  of 
a  people  composed  of  slaves  and  diplomatists — the  crime  of  in- 
discretion. 

I  am  impatient  to  see  the  Empress.  She  is  said  to  be  a 
charming,  though  at  the  same  time  a  frivolous  and  haughty  per- 
sonage. It  needs  both  hauteur  and  levity  to  support  an  exist- 
ence like  hers.  She  neither  interferes  with,  nor  informs  herself 
respecting  public  affairs ;  knowledge  is  worse  than  useless,  when 
there  is  no  power  to  act  upon  it.  The  Empress  follows  the  ex- 

*  In  the  History  of  Russia  and  cf  Peter  the  Great,  by  M.  le  General 
Comte  de  Segur,  we  read  as  follows  (the  Strelitz  are  the  parties  referred 
to) : — "  Peter  himself  interrogated  these  criminals  by  the  torture,  after 
which,  in  imitation  of  Ivan  the  Tyrant,  he  acted  as  their  judge  and  their 
executioner.  .  .  .  Drunk  with  wine  and  blood,  the  glass  in  one  hand, 
the  axe  in  the  other,  in  one  single  hour  twenty  successive  libations  marked 
the  fall  of  twenty  heads  of  the  Strelitz,  which  the  Emperor  struck  off, 
piquing  himself  all  the  while  on  his  horrible  dexterity." 


CULPABILITY    OF   THE   ARISTOCRACY.  77 

ample  of  the  other  subjects  of  the  Emperor :  all  who  are  born 
Russians,  or  would  live  in  Russia,  must  make  silence  upon  pub- 
lic affairs  the  motto  of  their  life.  Secret  conversations  would  be 
very  interesting,  but  who  dares  indulge  in  them  ?  To  reflect  and 
to  discern  would  be  to  render  one's  self  suspected. 

M.  de  Repnin  governed  the  empire  and  the  Emperor  :  he  has 
been  out  of  favor  for  two  years,  and  for  two  years  Russia  has 
not  heard  his  name  pronounced,  though  that  name  was  previously 
in  every  body's  mouth.  In  one  day,  he  fell  from  the  pinnacle  of 
power  into  the  lowest  depth  of  obscurity.  No  one  dared  to  re- 
member that  he  was  living,  nor  even  to  believe  that  he  ever  had 
lived.  In  Russia,  on  the  day  that  a  minister  falls  from  favour, 
his  friends  become  deaf  and  blind.  A  man  is,  as  it  were,  buried 
the  moment  he  appears  to  be  disgraced.  Russia  does  not  know 
to-day  if  the  minister  who  governed  her  yesterday  exists.  Under 
Louis  the  XV.  the  banishment  of  M.  de  Choiseul  was  a  triumph ; 
in  Russia,  the  retirement  of  M.  de  Repnin  is  a  funeral. 

To  whom  will  the  people  one  day  appeal  against  the  mute 
servility  of  the  great  ?  What  an  explosion  of  vengeance  is  not 
the  conduct  of  this  cringiDg  aristocracy  preparing  against  the 
autocratic  power  ?  What  are  the  duties  of  the  Russian  noblesse  ? 
To  adore  the  Emperor,  and  to  render  themselves  accomplices  in 
the  abuse  of  sovereign  power,  that  they  themselves  may  continue 
to  oppress  the  people  ?  Is  such  the  position  that  Providence  has 
ordained  them  to  occupy  in  the  economy  of  this  vast  empire  ? 
They  fill  its  posts  of  honour.  What  have  they  done  to  merit 
them  ?  In  the  history  of  Russia,  no  one  except  the  emperor  has 
performed  his  part.  The  nobles,  the  clergy,  and  all  the  other 
classes  of  society,  have  each  failed  in  their  own.  An  oppressed 
people  have  always  deserved  the  ills  under  which  they  suffer. 
Tyranny  is  the  work  of  the  nation.  Either  the  civilized  world 
will,  before  another  fifty  years,  pass  anew  under  the  yoke  of  bar- 
barians, or  Russia  will  undergo  a  revolution  more  terrible  than 
that  the  effects  of  which  we  are  still  feeling  in  Western  Europe. 

I  can  perceive  that  I  am  feared  here,  which  I  attribute  to  its 
being  known  that  I  write  under  the  influence  of  my  convictions. 
No  stranger  can  set  foot  in  this  country  without  immediately 
feeling  that  he  is  weighed  and  judged.  "  This  is  a  sincere  man," 
they  think,  "  therefore  he  must  be  dangerous."  Under  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  lawyers,*  a  sincere  man  is  only  useless  ! 

"  An  indefinite  hatred  of  despotism  reigns  in  France,"  they 

*  Alluding  to  France  under  King  Louis  Philippe. — Trans. 


78  RUSSIAN   PHYSICIANS. 

say  j  "  but  it  is  exaggerated  and  unenlightened,  therefore  we  will 
brave  it.  The  day,  however,  that  a  traveller,  who  convinces  be- 
cause he  himself  believes,  shall  tell  the  real  abuses  which  he  can- 
not fail  to  discover  among  us,  we  shall  be  seen  as  we  really  are. 
France  now  barks  at  us  without  knowing  us ;  when  she  does  know 
us,  she  will  bite." 

The  Russians,  no  doubt,  do  me  too  great  honour  by  the  in- 
quietude which,  notwithstanding  their  profound  dissimulation, 
they  cannot  conceal  from  me.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  shall 
publish  what  I  think  of  their  country  ;  but  I  do  know  that  they 
only  do  themselves  justice  in  fearing  the  truths  that  I  could 
publish. 

The  Russians  have  everything  in  name,  and  nothing  in  reality. 
They  have  civilization,  society,  literature,  the  drama,  the  arts  and 
sciences — but  they  have  no  physicians.  In  case  of  illness,  you  must 
either  prescribe  for  yourself,  or  call  in  a  foreign  practitioner.  If 
you  send  for  the  nearest  doctor,  you  are  a  dead  man,  for  medical 
art  in  Russia  is  in  its  infancy.  With  the  exception  of  the  physician 
of  the  Emperor,  who,  I  am  told,  is,  though  a  Russian,  skilful,  the 
only  doctors  who  would  not  assassinate  you  are  the  Germans 
attached  to  the  service  of  the  princes.  But  the  princes  live  in  a 
state  of  perpetual  motion.  It  is  often  impossible  to  ascertain 
where  they  may  be  ;  or,  when  that  is  known,  to  send  twenty, 
forty,  or  sixty  versts  (two  French  leagues  are  equal  to  seven 
versts),  after  them.  There  are,  therefore,  practically  speaking, 
no  physicians  in  Russia.  Should  even  the  physician  be  sought 
at  the  known  residence  of  his  prince,  and  not  be  found  there, 
there  is  no  further  hope.  "  The  doctor  is  not  here."  No  other 
answer  can  be  obtained.  In  Russia,  everything  serves  to  show 
that  reserve  is  the  favourite  virtue  of  the  land.  An  opportunity 
for  appearing  discreet  cannot  but  offer  to  those  who  know  how  to 
seize  it,  and  what  Russian  would  not  do  himself  credit  at  so  little 
cost  ?  The  projects  and  the  movements  of  the  great,  and  of  those 
attached  to  their  persons  by  so  confidential  an  office  as  that  of 
physician,  ought  not  to  be  known,  unless  officially  declared,  to 
persons  who  are  born  courtiers,  and  with  whom  obedience  is  a 
passion.  Here,  mystery  supplies  the  place  of  merit. 

The  most  able  of  these  doctors  of  the  princes  are  far  inferior 
to  the  least  known  among  the  medical  men  of  our  hospitals. 
The  skill  of  the  most  learned  practitioners  will  rust  at  court : 
nothing  can  supply  the  place  of  experience  gained  by  the  bedside 
of  the  sick.  I  could  read  the  secret  memoirs  of  a  Russian  court 
physician  with  great  interest,  but  I  would  not  follow  his  pre- 


COINCIDENCE    OF    DATES.  79 

scriptions.  Such  men  would  make  better  chroniclers  than  doctors. 
When,  therefore,  a  stranger  falls  sick  among  this  soi-disant  civil- 
ized people,  his  best  plan  is  to  consider  himself  among  savages, 
and  to  leave  everything  to  nature. 

On  returning  to  my  hotel  this  evening,  I  found  a  letter,  which 
has  very  agreeably  surprised  me.  Through  the  influence  of  our 
ambassador,  I  am  to  be  admitted  to-morrow  to  the  imperial  chapel, 
to  witness  the  marriage  of  the  Grand  Duchess. 

To  appear  at  court  before  having  been  presented,  is  contrary  to 
all  the  laws  of  etiquette,  and  I  was  far  from  hoping  for  such  a 
favour.  The  Emperor  has,  however,  granted  it.  Count  Woronzoff, 
Grand  Master  of  the  Ceremonies,  without  pro-informing  me,  for 
he  did  not  wish  to  amuse  me  with  a  false  hope,  had  despatched  a 
courier  to  Peterhoff,  which  is  ten  leagues  from  Petersburg,  to 
solicit  His  Majesty  in  my  favour.  This  kind  consideration  has 
not  been  unavailing.  The  Emperor  has  given  permission  for  me 
to  be  present  at  the  marriage,  in  the  chapel  of  the  court,  and  I 
am  to  be  presented,  without  ceremony,  at  the  ball  on  the  same 
evening. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Coincidence  of  Dates. — Marriage  of  the  Grandson  of  M.  de  Beauharnais.— Chapel  of  the  Court 
—The  Emperor  Nicholas— his  Person.— The  Empress.— Consequences  of  Despotism.— 
The  Author's  Debut  at  Court.— An  Accident. — Magnificent  Decorations  and  Costume.— 
Entree  of  the  Imperial  Family.— The  Emperor  Master  of  the  Ceremonies.— Forms  of  the 
Greek  Church.— M.  de  Pahlen.— Emotion  of  the  Empress.— Description  of  the  Duke  of 
Leuchtenberg. — His  Impatience.— Music  of  the  Imperial  Chapel. — The  Archbishop.— the 
Empress  kisses  his  Hand.— No  Crowd  in  Russia.— Immensity  of  the  Public  Squares. — 
The  Column  of  Alexander.— False  Taste  of  the  Russians  in  the  Arts.— Triumphal  Arch.— 
Storm  at  the  Moment  of  the  Marriage.— The  Emperor  to  be  pitied.  The  Empress  a  Vic- 
tim.—The  Author's  Presentation. — The  Emperor's  Voice.— The  Affability  of  the  Empress 
—A  fete  at  the  Palace.— Courtiers.— Court  Dances.— The  Polonaise.— The  Grand  Gallery. 
The  Supper. — Khan  of  the  Kirguises.— The  Queen  of  Georgia.— Russian  Court  Dress. — 
The  Genevese  at  the  Emperor's  Table. — Politeness  of  the  Monarch.— A  night  Scene  in 
the  North.— An  unexpected  Interview  with  the  Empress.— Philosophy  of  Despotism. 

I  AM  writing  on  the  14th  of  July,  1839,  just  fifty  years  after  the 
taking  of  the  Bastille,  which  event  occurred  on  the  1 4th  of  July, 
1789.  The  coincidence  of  these  dates  is  curious.  The  marriage 
of  the  son  of  Eugene  de  Beauharnais  has  taken  place  on  the  same 
day  as  that  which  marked  the  commencement  of  our  revolutions, 
precisely  fifty  years  ago. 

I  have  just  returned  from  the  palace,  after  having  witnessed, 
in  the  Imperial  chapel,  all  the  Greek  ceremonies  of  the  marriage 
of  the  Grand  Duchess  Maria  with  the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg. 


80  CHARACTER  OF  THE  EMPEROR. 

I  will  endeavour  to  describe  in  detail,  but  in  the  first  place  I 
must  speak  of  the  Emperor. 

The  predominant  expression  of  his  countenance  is  that  of  a 
restless  severity,  which  strikes  a  beholder  at  the  first  glance,  and, 
in  spite  of  the  regularity  of  his  features,  conveys  by  no  means  a 
pleasant  impression.  Physiognomists  pretend,  with  much  reason, 
that  the  hardness  of  the  heart  injures  the  beauty  of  the  counte- 
nance. Nevertheless,  this  expression  in  the  Emperor  Nicholas 
appears  to  be  the  result  of  experience  rather  than  the  work  of 
nature.  By  what  long  and  cruel  sufferings  must  not  a  man  have 
been  tortured,  when  his  countenance  excites  fear,  notwithstanding 
the  voluntary  confidence  that  noble  features  inspire  ! 

A  man  charged  with  the  management  and  direction,  in  its  most 
minute  details,  of  some  immense  machine,  incessantly  fears  the 
derangement  of  one  or  other  of  its  various  parts.  He  who  obeys, 
suffers  only  according  to  the  precise  measure  of  the  evil  inflicted  : 
he  who  commands,  suffers  first  as  other  men  suffer,  and  afterwards, 
that  common  measure  of  evil  is  multiplied  a  hundred  fold  for  him 
by  the  workings  of  imagination  and  self-love.  Responsibility  is 
the  punishment  of  absolute  power. 

If  he  be  the pritnum  mobile  of  all  minds,  he  becomes  the  centre 
also  of  all  griefs :  the  more  he  is  dreaded,  the  more  is  he  to  be 
pitied. 

He  to  whom  is  accorded  unlimited  rule,  sees,  even  in  the  com- 
mon occurrences  of  life,  the  spectre  of  revolt.  Persuaded  that 
his  rights  are  sacred,  he  recognises  no  bounds  to  them  but  those 
of  his  own  intelligence  and  will,  and  he  is,  therefore,  subject  to  con- 
stant annoyance.  An  unlucky  fly,  buzzing  in  the  imperial  palace 
during  a  ceremony,  mortifies  the  Emperor ;  the  independence  of 
nature  appears  to  him  a  bad  example  :  every  thing  which  he 
cannot  subject  to  his  arbitrary  laws  becomes,  in  his  eyes,  as  a 
soldier  who,  in  the  heat  of  battle,  revolts  against  his  officer.  The 
Emperor  of  Russia  is  a  military  chief,  and  every  day  with  him  is 
a  day  of  battle. 

Nevertheless,  at  times  some  gleams  of  softness  temper  the  im- 
perious looks  of  this  monarch  ;  and  then,  the  expression  of  affabi- 
lity reveals  all  the  native  beauty  of  his  classic  features.  In  the 
heart  of  the  husband  and  the  father,  humanity  triumphs  for  a 
moment  over  the  policy  of  the  prince.  When  the  sovereign  rests 
from  his  task  of  imposing  the  yoke  upon  his  subjects,  he  appears 
happy.  This  combat  between  the  primitive  dignity  of  the  man 
and  the  affected  gravity  of  the  sovereign,  appears  to  ine  worthy 
the  attention  of  an  observer :  it  occupied  mine  the  greater  part 
of  the  time  I  passed  in  the  chapel. 


EMPEROR    NICHOLAS HIS    PERSON.  81 

The  Emperor  is  above  the  usual  height  by  half  a  head ;  his 
figure  is  noble,  although  a  little  stiff;  he  has  practised  from  his 
youth  the  Russian  custom  of  girding  the  body  above  the  loins,  to 
such  a  degree  as  to  push  up  the  stomach  into  the  chest,  which 
produces  an  unnatural  swelling  or  extension  about  the  ribs  that 
is  as  injurious  to  health  as  it  is  ungraceful  in  appearance. 

This  voluntary  deformity  destroys  all  freedom  of  movement, 
impairs  the  elegance  of  the  shape,  and  imparts  an  air  of  constraint 
to  the  whole  person.  They  say  that  when  the  Emperor  loosens 
his  dress,  the  viscera,  suddenly  giving  way,  are  disturbed  for  a 
moment  in  their  equilibrium,  which  produces  an  extraordinary 
prostration  of  strength.  The  bowels  may  be  displaced,  —  they 
cannot  be  got  rid  of. 

The  Emperor  has  a  Grecian  profile,  the  forehead  high,  but  re- 
ceding ;  the  nose  straight,  and  perfectly  formed  ;  the  mouth  very 
finely  cut ;  the  face,  which  in  shape  is  rather  a  long  oval,  is 
noble  |  the  whole  air  military,  and  rather  German  than  Sclavonic. 
His  carriage  and  his  attitudes  are  naturally  imposing.  He  ex- 
pects always  to  be  gazed  at,  and  never  for  a  moment  forgets  that 
he  is  so.  It  may  even  be  said  that  he  likes  this  homage  of  the 
eyes. 

He  passes  the  greater  part  of  his  existence  in  the  open  air,  at 
reviews,  or  in  rapid  journeys.  During  summer,  the  shade  of  his 
military  hat  draws  across  his  forehead  an  oblique  line,  which 
marks  the  action  of  the  sun  upon  the  skin.  It  produces  a  singular 
effect,  but  is  not  disagreeable,  as  the  cause  is  at  once  perceived. 

In  examining  attentively  the  fine  person  of  this  individual,  on 
whose  will  hangs  the  fate  of  so  many  others,  I  have  remarked, 
with  involuntary  pity,  that  he  cannot  smile  at  the  same  time  with 
the  eyes  and  the  mouth ;  a  want  of  harmony  which  denotes  per- 
petual constraint,  and  which  makes  one  remember,  with  regret, 
that  easy  natural  grace,  so  conspicuous  in  the  less  regular  but 
more  agreeable  countenance  of  his  brother,  the  Emperor  Alex- 
ander. The  latter,  always  pleasing,  had  yet,  at  times,  an 
assumed  manner.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  is  more  sincere  ;  but 
he  has  an  habitual  expression  of  severity,  which  sometimes  gives 
the  idea  of  harshness  and  inflexibility.  If,  however,  he  is  less 
fascinating,  he  is  more  firm  than  his  late  brother ;  but  then,  it 
must  be  added,  that  he  has  also  a  proportionately  greater  need 
of  firmness.  Graceful  courtesy  insures  authority  by  removing 
the  desire  of  resistance.  This  judicious  economy  in  the  exercise 
of  power  is  a  secret  of  which  the  Emperor  Nicholas  is  ignorant ; 
he  is  one  who  desires  to  be  obeyed  where  others  desire  to  be 
loved. 


82  THE    EMPRESS. 

The  figure  of  the  Empress  is  very  elegant ;  and  though  she 
is  extremely  thin,  I  find  an  indefinable  grace  about  her  whole 
person.  Her  mien,  far  from  being  haughty,  as  I  had  been  in- 
formed, is  expressive  of  an  habitual  resignation.  On  entering 
the  chapel,  she  was  much  affected,  and  I  thought  she  was  going 
to  faint.  A  nervous  convulsion  agitated  every  feature  of  her 
face,  and  caused  her  head  slightly  to  shake.  Her  soft  blue,  but 
rather  sunken  eyes,  told  of  deep  sufferings  supported  with  angelic 
calmness.  Her  look,  full  of  feeling,  has  the  more  power,  from 
its  appearing  unconscious  of  possessing  any.  Faded  before  her 
time,  and  so  weak,  that  it  is  said  she  cannot  live  long,  her  person 
gives  the  idea  of  a  passing  shadow,  or  of  something  that  belongs 
no  more  to  earth.*  She  has  never  recovered  from  the  anguish 
she  had  to  undergo  on  the  day  of  her  accession  to  the  throne, 
and  conjugal  duty  has  consumed  the  rest  of  her  life. 

She  has  given  too  many  idols  to  Russia,  too  many  children 
to  the  Emperor.  "  Exhausting  herself  in  Grand  Dukes  !  What 
a  destiny  ! "  said  a  great  Polish  lady,  who  did  not  think  herself 
obliged  to  speak  reverently  with  her  lips  of  what  she  hated  in 
her  heart. 

Every  one  sees  the  state  of  the  Empress,  but  no  one  mentions 
it.  The  Emperor  loves  her  :  when  confined  to  her  chamber  by 
illness,  he  attends  her  himself,  watches  by  her  bed-side,  and  pre- 
pares and  administers  her  food  or  medicine.  No  sooner  is  she 
better,  than  he  destroys  her  health  with  the  excitement  of  fetes 
and  journeys ;  but  the  moment  that  danger  is  again  apprehended, 
he  renounces  all  his  projects.  Of  the  precautions  that  might 
prevent  illness  he  has  a  horror.  Wife,  children,  servants,  rela- 
tions, favourites, — all  in  Russia  must  follow  in  the  imperial 
vortex,  and  smile  on  till  they  die.  All  must  force  themselves  to 
conform  to  the  wish  of  the  sovereign,  which  wish  aldne  forms  the 
destiny  of  all.  The  nearer  any  one  is  placed  to  the  imperial  sun, 
the  more  is  he  a  slave  to  the  glory  attached  to  his  situation. 
The  Empress  is  dying  under  the  weight  of  this  slavery. 

Every  one  here  knows  this,  but  no  one  speaks  of  it ;  for  it  is 
a  general  rule  never  to  utter  a  word  which  can  excite  much  in- 
terest :  neither  he  who  speaks,  nor  he  who  listens,  must  allow  it 
to  be  seen  that  the  subject  of  conversation  merits  continued  at- 
tention, or  awakens  any  warm  feelings.  All  the  resources  of 
language  are  exhausted  in  order  to  banish  from  discourse,  idea 

*  Fifteen  years  have  elapsed  since  this  was  written ;  yet  the  Empress 
is  still  living. — Trans. 


CONSEQUENCES    OF   DESPOTISM.  83 

and  sentiment,  without,  however,  appearing  to  repress  them, 
which  would  bo  gauche.  The  excessive  constraint  which  results 
from  this  prodigious  labour, — prodigious  especially  through  the 
art  with  which  it  is  concealed, — embitters  the  life  of  the  Rus- 
sians. Such  a  torment  serves  as  an  expiation  for  the  men  who 
voluntarily  deprive  themselves  of  the  two  greatest  gifts  of  God 
— mind  and  its  organ,  speech ;  in  other  words,  thought  and 
liberty. 

The  more  I  see  of  Russia,  the  more  I  approve  the  conduct  of 
the  Emperor  in  forbidding  his  subjects  to  travel,  and  in  render- 
ing access  to  his  own  country  difficult  to  foreigners.  The  political 
system  of  Russia  could  not  survive  twenty  years'  free  communi- 
cation with  the  west  of  Europe.  Listen  not  to  the  fictions  of  the 
Russians  :  they  mistake  pomp  for  elegance,  luxury  for  politeness, 
a  powerful  police,  and  a  dread  of  government,  for  the  fundamen- 
tal principles  of  society.  According  to  their  notions,  discipline  is 
civilization.  Notwithstanding  all  their  pretensions  to  good  man- 
ners, their  showy  education,  their  precocious  corruption,  and 
their  facility  of  comprehending  and  appropriating  the  materialism 
of  life,  the  Russians  are  not  yet  civilized.  They  are  enrolled 
and  drilled  Tartars,  and  nothing  more. 

I  wish  it  not  to  be  inferred  that  they  are  therefore  to  be 
despised :  the  more  their  mental  rudeness  is  concealed  under  the 
softer  forms  of  social  intercourse,  the  more  formidable  I  consider 
them.  As  regards  civilization,  they  have  been  hitherto  contented 
with  exhibiting  its  appearance ;  but  if  ever  they  should  fmd  an 
opportunity  of  revenging'  their  real  inferiority  upon  us,  we  shall 
have  to  make  a  tremendous  expiation  for  our  advantages. 

This  morning,  after  dressing  myself  in  haste,  in  order  to  re- 
pair to  the  imperial  chapel,  I  entered  my  carriage  and  followed 
that  of  the  French  ambassador,  through  the  squares  and  streets 
that  led  to  the  palace,  examining  with  curiosity  all  that  presented 
itself  in  the  way.  The  troops  which  I  observed  in  the  approaches 
to  the  palace,  were  less  magnificent  than  I  had  been  led  to  ex- 
pect, though  the  horses  were  certainly  superb.  The  immense 
square  which  separates  the  dwelling  of  the  sovereign  from  the 
rest  of  the  city,  was  crossed  in  various  directions  by  lines  of 
carriages,  servants  in  livery  and  soldiers  in  a  variety  of  uniforms. 
That  of  the  Cossacks  is  the  most  remarkable.  Notwithstanding 
the  concourse,  the  square,  so  vast  is  its  extent,  was  not  crowded. 
In  new  states  there  is  a  void  every  where  ;  but  this  is  more 
especially  the  case  when  the  government  is  absolute :  it  is  the 
absence  of  liberty  which  creates  solitude,  and  spreads  sadness. 


84  EQUIPAGES    OF    THE    COURTIERS. 

The  equipages  of  the  courtiers  looked  well  without  being 
really  elegant.  The  carriages,  badly  painted,  and  still  worse 
varnished,  are  of  a  heavy  make.  They  are  drawn  by  four  horses, 
whose  traces  are  immoderately  long.  A  coachman  drives  the 
wheel  horses ;  a  little  postilion,  clothed  in  the  long  Persian  robe, 
similar  to  that  of  the  coachman,  rides  on  a  fore  horse,  seated 
upon,  or  rather  in,  a  hollow  saddle,  raised  before  and  behind,  and 
stuffed  like  a  pillow.  This  child,  called,  I  believe,  in  German 
the  Vorreiter*,  and  in  Russian  the  Faleiter,  is  always  perched 
upon  the  right,  or  off-side  leader ;  the  contrary  custom  prevails 
in  all  other  countries,  where  the  postilion  is  mounted  on  the  left, 
in  order  to  have  his  right  hand  free  to  guide  his  other  horse. 
The  spirit  and  power  of  the  Russian  horses,  which  have  all  some 
blood,  though  all  have  not  beauty,  the  dexterity  of  the  coach- 
men, and  the  richness  of  their  dress,  greatly  set  off  the  carriages, 
and  produce  altogether  an  effect  which,  if  not  so  elegant,  is  more 
striking  and  splendid  than  that  of  the  equipages  of  the  other 
courts  of  Europe. 

I  was  occupied  with  a  crowd  of  reflections  which  the  novelty 
of  the  objects  around  me  suggested,  when  my -carriage  stopped 
under  a  grand  peristyle,  where  I  descended  among  a  crowd  of 
gilded  courtiers,  who  were  attended  by  vassals  as  barbaric  in 
appearance  as  in  reality.  The  costume  of  the  servants  is  almost 
as  brilliant  as  that  of  their  masters.  The  Russians  have  a  great 
taste  for  splendor,  and  in  court  ceremonies  this  taste  is  more 
especially  displayed. 

In  descending  from  the  carriage  rather  hastily,  lest  I  should 
be  separated  from  the  persons  under  whose  guidance  I  had 
placed  myself,  my  foot  struck  with  some  force  against  the  curb 
stone,  which  had  caught  my  spur.  At  the  moment  I  paid  little 
attention  to  the  circumstance  ;  but  great  was  my  distress  when, 
immediately  afterwards,  I  perceived  that  the  spur  had  come  off, 
and,  what  was  still  worse,  that  it  had  carried  with  it  the  heel  of 
the  boot  also.  Having  to  appear  in  this  dilapidated  state,  for 
the  first  time,  before  a  man  said  to  be  as  precise  as  he  is  great 
and  powerful,  seemed  to  me  a  real  misfortune.  The  Russians 
are  prone  to  ridicule ;  and  the  idea  of  affording  them  a  subject 
for  laughter  at  my  first  presentation,  was  peculiarly  unpleasant. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  To  return  under  the  peristyle  to 
search  for  the  remnant  of  my  boot  was  quite  useless.  To  quit 
the  French  ambassador  and  return  home,  would,  in  itself,  be  the 

*  The  fore  rider. 


AN    ACCIDENT.  85 

way  to  create  a  scene.  On  the  other  hand,  to  show  myself  as  I 
was,  would  ruin  me  in  the  estimation  of  the  Emperor  and  his 
courtiers ;  and  I  have  no  philosophy  against  ridicule  to  which  I 
voluntarily  expose  myself.  The  troubles  that  pleasure  draws 
one  into  at  a  thousand  leagues  from  home,  appear  to  me  insup- 
portable. It  was  so  easy  not  to  go  at  all,  that  to  go  awkwardly 
were  unpardonable.  I  might  hope  to  conceal  myself  in  the 
crowd ;  but,  I  repeat,  there  never  is  a  crowd  in  Russia ;  and  least 
of  all,  upon  a  staircase  like  that  of  the  new  Winter  Palace,  which 
resembles  some  decorations  in  the  opera  of  Gustavus.  This  pa- 
lace is,  I  believe,  the  largest  and  most  magnificent  of  all  existing 
royal  or  imperial  residences. 

I  felt  my  natural  timidity  increase  with  the  confusion  which 
so  ludicrous  an  accident  produced,  until  at  length,  fear  itsef  sup- 
plied me  with  courage,  and  I  began  to  limp  as  lightly  as  I  could 
across  the  immense  saloons  and  stately  galleries,  the  length  and 
strong  light  of  which  I  inwardly  cursed.  The  Russians  are  cool, 
quick-sighted  quizzes,  possessing,  like  all  the  ambitious,  little 
delicacy  of  feeling.  They  are,  besides,  mistrustful  of  strangers, 
whose  judgment  they  fear,  because  they  believe  we  have  but 
little  good  feeling  towards  them.  This  prejudice  renders  them 
censorious  and  secretly  caustic,  although  outwardly  they  appear 
hospitable  and  polite. 

I  reached,  at  length,  but  not  without  difficulty,  the  further 
end  of  the  imperial  chapel.  There  all  was  forgotten,  including 
even  myself  and  my  foolish  embarrassment ;  indeed,  in  this  place 
the  crowd  was  more  dense,  and  no  one  could  see  what  was  want- 
ing to  my  equipment.  The  novelty  of  the  spectacle  that  awaited 
me,  restored  my  coolness  and  self-possession.  I  blushed  for  the 
vexation  which  my  vanity  as  a  disconcerted  courtier  had  pro- 
duced, and  with  the  resumption  of  my  part  as  simple  traveller  in 
the  scene,  recovered  the  composure  of  a  philosophic  observer. 

One  word  more  upon  my  costume.  It  had  been  the  subject 
of  grave  consultation  :  some  of  the  young  people  attached  to  the 
French  legation  had  advised  the  habit  of  the  national  guard.  I 
feared,  however,  that  this  uniform  would  displease  the  Emperor, 
arid  decided  upon  that  of  a  staff  officer,  with  the  epaulettes  of  a 
lieuterant-colonel,  which  are  those  of  my  rank. 

I  had  been  warned  that  the  dress  would  appear  new,  and  that 
it  would  become,  on  the  part  of  the  princes  of  the  imperial  fa- 
mily, and  of  the  Emperor  himself,  the  subject  of  numerous  ques- 
tions which  might  embarrass  me.  Hitherto,  however,  none  have 
had  time  to  occupy  themselves  with  so  small  an  affair. 


86  FORMS  OF  THE  GREEK  CHURCH. 

The  Greek  marriage  rites  are  long  and  imposing.  Every 
thing  is  symbolical  in  the  Eastern  church.  The  splendours  of 
religion  shed  a  lustre  over  the  solemnities  of  the  court. 

The  walls  and  roof  of  the  chapel,  the  habiliments  of  the 
priests  and  of  their  attendants,  all  glittered  with  gold  and  jewels. 
There  are  here  riches  enough  to  astonish  the  least  poetical  ima- 
gination. The  spectacle  vies  with  the  most  fanciful  description 
in  the  Arabian  Nights ;  it  is  like  the  poetry  of  Lalla  Rookh,  or 
the  Marvellous  Lamp, — that  Oriental  poetry  in  which  sensation 
prevails  over  sentiment  and  thought. 

The  imperial  chapel  is  not  of  large  dimensions.  It  was  filled 
with  the  representatives  of  all  the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  and  al- 
most of  Asia ;  with  strangers  like  myself,  admitted  in  the  suite 
of  the  diplomatic  corps  ;  with  the  wives  of  the  ambassadors,  and 
the  great  officers  of  the  court.  A  balustrade  separated  us  from 
the  circular  enclosure,  within  which  the  altar  was  raised.  It  had 
the  form  of  a  low  square  table.  Places  in  the  choir  were  re- 
served for  the  imperial  family :  at  the  moment  of  our  arrival  they 
were  vacant. 

I  have  seen  few  things  that  could  compare  with  the  magnifi- 
cence and  solemnity  which  attended  the  entrance  of  the  Emperor 
into  this  chapel,  blazing  with  gold  and  jewels.  He  appeared, 
advancing  with  the  Empress,  and  followed  by  the  court  retinue. 
All  eyes  were  immediately  fixed  upon  him  and  his  family ;  among 
whom  the  betrothed  pair  shone  conspicuously.  A  marriage  of 
inclination  celebrated  in  broidered  habiliments,  and  in  a  place  so 
pompous,  was  a 'novelty  which  crowned  the  interest  of  the  scene. 
This  was  repeated  by  every  one  around  me ;  for  my  own  part  I 
cannot  give  credit  to  the  marvel,  nor  can  I  avoid  seeing  a  politic 
motive  in  all  that  is  said  and  done  here.  The  Emperor  perhaps 
deceives  himself,  ai;d  believes  that  he  is  performing  acts  of  pa- 
ternal tenderness,  while  in  the  bottom  of  his  heart  he  may  be 
secretly  influenced  in  his  choice  by  the  hope  of  personal  advan- 
tage. 

It  is  with  ambition  as  with  avarice ;  misers  always  calculate, 
not  excepting  even  the  moment  when  they  believe  they  are  yield- 
ing to  disinterested  sentiments. 

Although  the  court  was  numerous,  and  the  chapel  small,  there 
was  no  confusion.  I  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  corps  diploma- 
tique, near  the  balustrade  which  separated  us  from  the  sanctuary. 
We  were  not  so  crowded  as  to  be  unable  to  distinguish  the  fea- 
tures and  movements  of  each  of  the  personages  whom  duty  or 
curiosity  had  there  brought  together.  No  disorder  interrupted 


ATTENDANCE    AT    COURT.  87 

the  respectful  silence  that  was  maintained  throughout  the  assem- 
bly. A  brilliant  sun  illuminated  the  interior  of  the  chapel, 
where  the  temperature  had,  I  understood,  risen  to  thirty  degrees.* 
We  observed  in  the  suite  of  the  Emperor,  habited  in  a  long  robe 
of  gold  tissue,  and  a  pointed  bonnet,  likewise  adorned  with  gold 
embroidery,  a  Tartan  Khan,  who  is  half  tributary,  and  half  inde- 
pendent of  Russia.  This  petty  sovereign  had  come  to  pray  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  to  admit  among  his  pages  a  son 
twelve  years  old,  whom  he  had  brought  to  Petersburg,  hoping 
thus  to  secure  for  the  child  a  suitable  destiny.  The  presence  of 
this  declining  power  served  as  a  contrast  to  that  of  the  successful 
monarch,  and  reminded  me  of  the  triumphal  pomps  of  Rome. 

The  first  ladies  of  the  Russian  court,  and  the  wives  of  the 
ambassadors  of  the  other  courts,  among  whom  I  recognised  Ma- 
demoiselle Sontag,  now  Countess  de  Rossi,  graced  with  their  pre- 
sence the  circumference  of  the  chapel.  At  the  lower  end,  which 
terminated  in  a  brilliant,  painted  rotunda,  were  ranged  the  whole 
of  the  imperial  family.  The  gilded  ceiling  reflecting  the  ardent 
rays  of  the  sun,  formed  a  species  of  crown  around  the  heads  of 
the  sovereigns  and  their  children.  The  attire  and  diamonds  of 
the  ladies  shone  with  a  magic  splendour  in  the  midst  of  all  the 
treasures  of  Asia,  which  beamed  upon  the  walls  of  the  sanctuary, 
where  royal  magnificence  seemed  to  challenge  the  majesty  of  the 
God  whom  it  honoured,  without  forgetting  its  own. 

All  this  gorgeous  display  is  wonderful,  especially  to  us,  if  we 
recall  the  time,  not  distant,  when  the  marriage  of  the  daughter 
of  a  Czar  would  have  been  scarcely  heard  of  in  Europe,  and 
when  Peter  I.  declared,  that  he  had  a  right  to  leave  his  crown  to 
whomsoever  he  pleased.  How  great  a  progress  for  so  short  a 
period  ! 

When  we  reflect  on  the  diplomatic  and  other  conquests  of  this 
power,  which  not  long  since  was  considered  as  of  but  little  im- 
portance in  the  civilized  world,  we  are  almost  led  to  ask  ourselves 
if  that  which  we  see  is  not  a  dream.  The  Emperor  himself  did 
not  seem  to  be  much  accustomed  to  what  was  passing  before  him  ; 
for  he  was  continually  leaving  his  prayers,  and  slipping  from  one 
side  to  the  other,  in  order  to  remedy  the  omissions  of  etiquette 
among  his  children,  or  the  clergy.  This  proves  that  in  Russia, 
even  the  court  has  not  yet  finished  its  education.  His  son-in-law 
was  not  placed  quite  conveniently,  whereupon  he  made  him  shift 
his  position  by  about  two  feet.  The  Grand  Duchess,  the  priests 

*  Of  Reaumur. — Trans. 


88  M.    DE    PAHLEN. 

themselves,  and  all  the  great  functionaries  of  the  court  seemed  to 
be  governed  by  his  minute  but  supreme  directions.  I  felt  that 
it  would  have  been  more  dignified  to  leave  things  as  they  were, 
and  I  could  have  wished  that  when  once  in  the  chapel,  God  only 
had  been  thought  of,  and  each  man  had  been  left  to  acquit  him- 
self of  his  functions,  without  his  master  so  scrupulously  rectify- 
ing each  little  fault  of  religious  discipline,  or  court  ceremonial : 
but  in  this  singular  country  the  absence  of  liberty  is  seen  every- 
where ;  it  is  found  even  at  the  foot  of  the  altar.  Here  the  spirit 
of  Peter  the  Great  governs  the  minds  of  all. 

During  the  mass  at  a  Greek  marriage,  there  is  a  moment 
when  the  betrothed  drink  together  out  of  the  same  cup.  After- 
wards, accompanied  by  the  officiating  priest,  they  pass  three  times 
round  the  altar,  hand  in  hand,  to  signify  the  conjugal  union,  and 
the  fidelity  which  should  attend  their  walk  through  life.  All 
these  acts  are  the  more  imposing,  as  they  recall  to  mind  the  cus- 
toms of  the  primitive  church. 

The  above  ceremonies  being  ended,  a  crown  was  next  held  for 
a  considerable  time  over  the  head  of  each  of  the  newly  married 
pair ;  the  crown  of  the  Grand  Duchess,  by  her  brother  the  hered- 
itary Grand  Duke,  the  position  of  which  the  Emperor  himself 
(once  more  leaving  his  prayer-desk)  took  care  to  adjust,  with  a 
mixture  of  good  nature  and  of  minute  attention  that  would  be 
difficult  to  describe. 

The  crown  of  the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg  was  held  by  the 
Count  de  Pahlen,  Russian  ambassador  at  Paris,  and  son  of  the 
too  celebrated  and  too  zealous  friend  of  Alexander.  This  re- 
collection, banished  from  the  conversation,  and  perhaps  from  the 
thoughts,  of  the  Russians  of  these  days,  did  not  cease  to  occupy 
my  mind  the  whole  time  that  the  Count  de  Pahlen,  with  the 
noble  simplicity  which  is  natural  to  him,  was  engaged  in  the  per- 
formance of  an  act  envied,  doubtless,  by  all  who  aspired  to  court 
favour.  That  act  was  an  invocation  of  the  protection  of  Heaven, 
upon  the  head  of  the  husband  of  Paul  the  First's  grandchild  ! 
The  strange  coincidence  most  probably  occurred  to  no  one  except 
myself.  It  appears  that  tact  and  propriety  are  here  necessary 
only  for  those  who  possess  no  power.  Had  the  recollection  of 
the  fact  which  occupied  my  mind,  occurred  to  that  of  the  Em- 
peror, he  would  have  commissioned  some  other  individual  to  hold 
the  crown  over  the  head  of  his  son-in-law.  But  in  a  country 
where  they  neither  read  nor  speak  of  public  affairs,  nothing  has 
less  to  do  with  the  events  of  to-day,  than  the  history  of  yester- 
day ;  power  consequently  sometimes  acts  inadvertently,  and  com- 


THE    DUKE    OF    LEUCHTENBERG.  89 

mits  oversights  which  prove  that  it  sleeps  in  a  security  not  always 
well  advised.  Russian  policy  is  not  shackled  in  its  march  either 
by  opinions  or  actions;  the  favour  of  the  sovereign  is  every 
thing.  So  long  as  it  lasts,  it  supplies  the  want  of  merit,  of  vir- 
tue, and  even  of  innocence  Jn  the  man  on  whom  it  is  lavished; 
and,  in  the  same  manner,  when  it  is  withdrawn,  it  deprives  him 
of  every  thing. 

Every  one  contemplated  with  a  species  of  anxious  interest 
the  immovableness  of  the  arms  which  sustained  the  two  crowns. 
The  scene  lasted  for  a  considerable  time,  and  must  have  been 
very  fatiguing  for  the  performers.  The  young  bride  is  extremely 
graceful ;  her  eyes  are  blue,  and  her  fair  complexion  has  all  the 
delicate  freshness  of  early  youth :  openness  and  intelligence 
united,  from  the  predominant  expression  of  her  face.  This  prin- 
cess and  her  sister,  the  Grand  Duchess  Olga,  appear  to  me  the 
two  most  beautiful  persons  at  the  Russian  court : — happy  unison 
of  the  advantages  of  rank  and  the  gifts  of  n.ature. 

When  the  officiating  bishop  presented  the  married  pair  to  their 
august  parents,  the  latter  embraced  them  with  a  warmth  that  was 
affecting.  The  moment  afterwards,  the  Empress  threw  herself 
into  the  arms  of  her  husband — an  effusion  of  tenderness  which 
would  have  better  suited  a  chamber  than  a  chapel :  but  in  Russia 
the  sovereigns  are  at  home  every  where,  not  excepting  the  house 
of  God.  The  tender  emotion,  however,  of  the  Empress  appeared 
altogether  involuntary,  and  therefore  did  not  shock  the  feelings. 
Woe  to  those  who  could  find  any  thing  to  ridicule  in  the  emotions 
produced  by  true  and  natural  feeling  !  Such  exhibitions  of  sen- 
sibility are  sympathetic.  German  kind-heartedness  is  never  lost ; 
there  must  indeed  be  soul,  when  feeling  is  allowed  to  betray  it- 
self even  upon  the  throne. 

Before  the  benediction,  two  doves  were,  according  to  custom, 
let  loose  in  the  chapel ;  they  quickly  settled  on  a  gilded  cornice 
which  jutted  out  directly  over  the  heads  of  the  wedded  pair  ;  and 
there  they  never  ceased  billing  and  cooing  during  the  whole 
mass.  Pigeons  are  well  off  in  Russia :  they  are  revered  as  the 
sacred  symbol  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  it  is  forbidden  to  kill 
them  :  fortunately,  the  flavour  of  their  flesh  is  not  liked  by  the 
Russians. 

The  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg  *  is  a  tall,  well-made  young  man, 
but  there  is  nothing  distingue  in  his  features.  His  eyes  are 
handsome,  but  his  mouth  projects  and  is  not  well  formed.  His 

*  He  died  Nov.  1, 1852. 


00  AN    IMPERIAL    MASTER. 

figure  is  good  without  being  noble  :  a  uniform  becomes  him,  and 
supplies  that  want  of  grace  that  may  be  observed  in  his  person. 
He  looks  more  like  a  smart  sub-lieutenant  than  a  prince.  Not 
one  relation  on  his  side  had  come  to  St.  Petersburg  to  assist  at 
the  ceremony. 

During  the  mass  he  appeared  singularly  impatient  to  be  alone 
with  his  wife ;  and  the  eyes  of  the  whole  assembly  were  directed, 
by  a  kind  of  spontaneous  sympathy,  towards  the  two  pigeons 
perched  above  the  altar. 

At  one  part  of  the  Greek  marriage  ceremony  every  one  is 
obliged  to  kneel.  Before  prostrating  himself  with  the  others,  the 
Emperor  cast  around  the  assembly  a  searching,  and  by  no  means 
pleasing  glance.  It  appeared  as  though  he  would  assure  himself 
that  no  one  remained  standing — a  superfluous  precaution :  for 
though  there  were  among  the  foreigners  present  both  Catholics 
and  Protestants,  it  never,  I  am  certain,  entered  into  the  thoughts 
of  one  not  to  conform,  externally,  to  all  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Greek  church.* 

The  possibility  of  a  doubt  on  such  a  point  justifies  some  of  my 
previous  observations,  and  authorizes  my  repeating  that  a  restless 
severity  has  become  the  habitual  expression  of  the  physiognomy 
of  the  Emperor. 

In  these  times,  when  revolt  pervades,  as  it  were,  the  very  air, 
perhaps  autocracy  itself  begins  to  fear  lest  some  insult  should  be 


*  The  fear  of  the  Emperor  is  in  some  measure  explained  by  an  account 
sent  me  from  Rome,  in  the  month  of  January,  1843,  by  one  of  the  most 
veracious  individuals  whom  I  know. 

"The  last  day  of  December  I  was  at  the  Church  del  Gesu;  it  was  de- 
corated in  a  magnificent  manner,  the  organs  were  playing  beautiful  sym- 
phonies, and  all  the  most  distinguished  people  in  Rome  were  present.  Two 
chairs  were  placed  on  the  left  of  the  superb  altar  for  the  Grand  Duchess 
Maria,  daughter  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and  her  husband  the  Duke  of 
Leuchtenberg.  They  arrived  attended  by  their  suite  and  the  Swiss  guards, 
who  formed  their  escort,  and  seated  themselves  on  their  chairs  without 
previously  kneeling  on  the  cushions  opposite,  or  paying  any  attention  to 
the  holy  sacrament  exposed  before  their  eyes.  The  ladies  of  honour  sat 
behind,  which  obliged  the  prince  and  princess  to  turn  their  heads  in  order 
to  carry  on  the  conversation,  which  they  continued  to  do  as  though  they 
were  in  a  saloon.  Two  chamberlains  remained  standing,  whereupon  a 
sacristan,  supposing  they  wanted  seats  and  busying  himself  to  provide  them, 
excited  much  unsuitable  laughter  on  the  part  of  the  prince  and  princess. 
The  Pope  remained  during  the  whole  ceremony,  which  was  a  rendering  of 
thanks  to  God  for  the  blessings  of  the  past  year,  upon  his  knees.  A  cardi- 
nal gave  the  benediction,  when  the  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg  knelt  also,  but 
the  princess  continued  seated." 


MUSIC    OF    THE    IMPERIAL    CHAPEL.  91 

offered  to  its  power.  Such  an  idea  would  clash  disagreeably,  and 
even  terrifically,  with  the  notions  which  it  preserves  of  its  rights. 
Absolute  power  is  most  to  be  feared  when  it  is  itself  under  the 
influence  of  fear.  In  noticing  the  nervous  affection,  the  weakness, 
and  the  emaciated  frame  of  the  empress,  I  called  to  mind  what 
this  interesting  woman  must  have  suffered  during  the  revolt  at 
the  time  of  her  accession  to  the  throne.  Heroism  repays  itself ; 
it  is  by  fortitude,  but  a  fortitude  that  exhausts  life. 

I  have  already  said  that  every  body  had  fallen  on  their  knees, 
and,  last  of  all,  the  Emperor  ;  the  lovers  were  united ;  the  impe- 
rial family  and  the  crowd  arose ;  the  priests  and  choir  chaunted  the 
Te  Deum,  and  discharges  of  artillery,  outside,  announced  the 
consecration  of  the  marriage  to  the  city.  The  effect  of  this  ex- 
quisite music,  mingled  with  the  thunder  of  the  cannon,  the  ring- 
ing of  the  bells,  and  the  distant  acclamations  of  the  people,  was 
inexpressibly  grand.  All  musical  instruments  are  banished  from 
the  Greek  church,  and  the  voices  of  human  beings  only  there 
celebrate  the  praises  of  God.  This  rigour  of  the  Oriental  ritual 
is  favourable  to  the  art  of  singing,  preserving  to  it  all  its  sim- 
plicity, and  producing  an  effect  in  the  chants  which  is  absolutely 
celestial.  I  could  fancy  I  heard  the  heart-beating  of  sixty  mil- 
lions of  subjects — a  living  orchestra,  following,  without  drowning, 
the  triumphal  hymn  of  the  priests.  I  was  deeply  moved :  music 
can  make  us  forget  for  one  moment  even  despotism  itself. 

I  can  only  compare  these  choruses  without  accompaniment, 
to  the  Miserere  as  sung  during  the  Passion  Week  in  the  Sistine 
Chapel  at  Rome  ;  but  the  chapel  of  the  Pope  is  but  the  shadow 
of  what  it  formerly  was. '  It  is  one  ruin  more  amid  the  ruins  of 
Rome.  About  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  when  the  Italian 
school  shone  in  its  brightest  lustre,  the  old  Greek  chants  were 
re-arranged,  without  being  spoilt,  by  composers  who  were 
brought  to  Petersburg  from  Rome.  The  works  of  these  stran- 
gers are  chefs-d'oeuvre^  which  is  mainly  owing  to  all  their  talent 
and  science  having  been  applied  in  subservience  to  the  works  of 
antiquity.  Their  classic  compositions  are  executed  with  a  power 
worthy  of  the  conception.  The  soprano,  or  children's  parts — for 
no  woman  sings  in  the  Imperial  Chapel — are  perfectly  correct  ; 
the  basses  have  a  strength,  depth,  and  purity,  that  exceed  any 
thing  I  recollect  having  heard  elsewhere. 

To  an  amateur  of  the  art,  the  music  of  the  Imperial  Chapel 
is  alone  worth  a  journey  to  Petersburg.  The  sweet,  the  pow- 
erful, and  all  the  finest  shades  of  expression,  are  observed  with  a 
depth  of  feeling  and  a  skill  which  cannot  be  too  much  ad- 


92  THE    ARCHBISHOP. 

mired.  The  Russians  are  musical ;  this  cannot  be  doubted  by 
those  who  have  heard  the  music  in  their  churches.  I  listened 
without  daring  to  breathe,  and  I  longed  for  my  learned  friend 
Meyerbeer  to  explain  to  me  the  beauties  which  I  so  deeply  felt, 
but  which  I  was  unable  to  comprehend.  He  would  have  under- 
stood them  by  the  inspiration  they  would  have  communicated, 
for  his  admiration  of  models  is  expressed  by  his  rivalling  them. 

During  the  Te  Deum,  at  the  moment  when  the  two  choirs  were 
responding  to  each  other,  the  tabernacle  opened,  and  the  priests 
were  seen,  their  heads  adorned  with  sparkling  tiaras  of  jewels, 
and  their  bodies  clothed  in  robes  of  gold,  over  which  their  silver 
beards  fell  majestically ;  some  of  these  beards  reach  as  far  as 
the  waist.  The  assistants  make  as  dazzling  an  appearance  as 
the  priests.  This  court  is  certainly  magnificent,  and  the  milita- 
ry costume  shines  also  in  all  its  splendour.  I  saw  with  delight 
the  people  bringing  to  Grod  the  homage  of  their  riches  and  their 
pomp.  The  sacred  music  was  listened  to  by  a  profane  auditory 
with  a  silence  and  attention  which  would  alone  give  an  effect  to 
chants  less  sublime  than  these.  God  was  there,  and  his  pre- 
sence sanctifies  even  the  court :  the  world  and  sense  were  nothing 
more  than  accessory  objects — the  reigning  thought  was  heaven. 

The  officiating  archbishop  did  not  disgrace  the  majesty  of 
the  scene.  If  not  handsome,  he  is  venerable  ;  his  small  figure  is 
like  that  of  a  weasel,  but  his  head  is  white  with  age.  He  has  a 
careworn  and  sickly  appearance ;  a  priest,  old  and  feeble,  cannot 
be  an  ignoble  object.  At  the  close  of  the  ceremony  the  Emperor 
came  and  bent  before  him,  respectfully  kissing  his  hand. 

The  autocrat  never  fails  to  give  an  example  of  submission 
when  there  is  a  hope  that  such  an  example  may  be  of  profit  to 
himself.  I  was  interested  in  the  poor  archbishop,  who  appeared 
dying  in  the  midst  of  his  glory.  The  majestic  figure  of  the 
Emperor  with  his  noble  countenance,  bending  before  the  repre- 
sentative of  religious  power — the  youthful  couple — the  imperial 
family — the  spectators — in  short,  the  whole  assemblage  that 
filled  and  animated  the  chapel,  formed  a  subject  for  a  picture. 
Before  the  ceremony,  I  thought  the  archbishop  would  have  faint- 
ed. The  court  kept  him  waiting  a  long  time,  unmindful  of  the 
saying  of  Louis  XVII.,  that  "  Punctuality  is  the  politeness  of 
kings."  Notwithstanding  the  cunning  expression  of  his  counte- 
nance, this  old  man  inspired  me  with  compassion.  He  was  so 
feeble,  and  yet  he  sustained  fatigue  with  so  much  patience,  that 
I  pitied,  if  I  did  not  respect  him  ;  for  whether  his  patience  was 
the  result  of  piety,  or  of  ambition,  it  was  cruelly  tried. 


COLUMN    OF    ALEXANDER.  93 

The  religious  ceremony  in  the  Greek  chapel  was  followed  by 
a  second  nuptial  benediction  by  a  Catholic  priest,  which  took 
place  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  palace,  consecrated  to  this  pious 
use  for  the  day  only.  After  these  two  marriages,  the  wedded 
pair  and  their  family  met  at  table.  I,  not  having  permission  to 
witness  either  the  Catholic  marriage  or  the  banquet,  followed  the 
greater  number  of  the  courtly  crowd,  and  went  out  to  breathe  a 
less  stifling  air,  congratulating  myself  on  the  little  effect  that  my 
dilapidated  boot  had  produced.  Some  persons,  however,  spoke 
to  me  of  it  laughingly,  and  that  was  all.  Both  in  good  and  in 
evil,  nothing  that  merely  regards  ourselves  is  as  important  as  we 
fancy  it. 

On  departing  from  the  palace,  I  found  my  carriage  again 
without  any  trouble.  There  is  never,  I  repeat,  a  large  concourse 
in  Russia.  The  space  is  always  too  vast  for  what  is  done  there. 
This  is  the  advantage  of  a  country  where  there  is  no  nation.  In 
a  community  thus  ordered,  a  crowd  would  be  equivalent  to  a 
revolution. 

The  void  which  is  everywhere  observable,  causes  the  public 
structures  to  appear  too  small  for  the  places  in  which  they  stand  : 
they  seem  lost  in  space.  The  column  of  Alexander  passes  for 
being  higher  than  that  of  the  Place  Yendome,  owing  to  the  di- 
mensions of  its  pedestal.  The  shaft  consists  of  one  single  block 
of  granite,  the  largest  that  has  ever  been  shaped  by  the  hand  of 
man.  This  immense  column,  raised  between  the  Winter  Palace 
and  the  crescent  which  forms  the  other  extremity  of  the  square, 
when  viewed  from  the  palace,  appears  to  the  eye  as  nothing  more 
than  a  pole,  and  the  houses  around  might  be  taken  for  palisades. 
In  the  square,  a  hundred  thousand  men  can  perform  their  ma- 
noeuvres, without  its  appearing  filled  or  thickly  peopled.  It  is 
enclosed  by  the  Winter  Palace,  the  facades  of  which  are  rebuilt 
on  the  model  of  the  old  palace  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth.  Here  is 
at  least  a  relief  to  the  eyes,  after  the  poor  and  frigid  imitations 
of  the  monuments  of  Athens  and  Rome.  The  style  is  that  of  the 
Regency,  or  Louis  XIV.  degenerated,  but  the  scale  is  very  large. 
The  opposite  side  of  the  square  is  terminated  by  a  semicircle  or 
crescent  of  buildings,  in  which  are  established  the  bureaus  of 
various  ministers  of  state.  These  edifices  are  mostly  constructed 
in  the  ancient  Grecian  style.  Singular  taste  !  Temples  erected 
to  clerks !  The  buildings  of  the  Admiralty  are  in  the  same 
square.  Their  small  pillars  and  gilded  turrets  produce  a  pictu- 
resque effect.  An  avenue  of  trees  ornaments  the  square  opposite 
this  spot,  and  renders  it  less  monotonous.  On  the  other  side  of 


94  FALSE    TASTE    OF    THE    RUSSIANS    IN    THE    ARTS. 

the  immense  Russian  Champ  de  Mars  stands  the  Church  of  Saint 
Isaac,  with  its  colossal  peristyle,  and  its  brazen  dome,  still  half 
concealed  by  tho  scaffolding  of  the  architect.  Further  on,  is 
seen  the  palace  of  the  Senate,  and  other  structures  still  in  the 
form  of  pagan  temples.  Beyond,  in  an  angle  of  this  long  square, 
at  its  extremity  on  the  Neva,  stands  the  statue  of  Peter  the 
Great,  which  disappears  in  immensity  like  a  pebble  on  the  shore. 
These  above-named  edifices  contain  material  enough  to  build  an 
entire  city,  and  yet  they  do  not  complete  the  sides  of  the  great 
square  of  Petersburg  :  it  is  a  vast  field,  not  of  wheat,  but  of  pil- 
lars. The  Russians  may  do  their  best  to  imitate  all  that  art  has 
produced  of  beautiful  in  other  times  and  other  lands  ;  they  forget 
that  nature  is  stronger  than  man.  They  never  sufficiently  con- 
sult her,  and  therefore  she  is  constantly  revenging  herself  by 
doing  them  mischief.  Masterpieces  have  only  been  produced  by 
men  who  have  listened  to,  and  felt  the  power  of  nature.  Nature 
is  the  conception  of  God  ;  art  is  the  relation  between  the  concep- 
tions of  man  and  those  of  the  power  which  has  created  and  which 
perpetuates  the  world.  The  artist  repeats  on  earth  what  he  has 
heard  in  heaven ;  he  is  but  the  translator  of  the  works  of  the 
Deity  ;  those  who  would  create  by  their  own  models  produce  only 
monsters. 

Among  the  ancients,  the  architects  reared  their  structures  in 
steep  and  confined  spots,  where  the  picturesque  character  of  the 
site  added  to  the  effect  of  the  works  of  man.  The  Russians,  who 
flatter  themselves  they  are  re-producing  the  wonders  of  antiquity, 
and  who,  in  reality,  are  only  caricaturing  them,  raise  their  soi- 
disant  Grecian  and  Roman  structures  in  immense  plains,  where 
they  are  almost  lost  to  the  eye.  The  architecture  proper  for  such 
a  land  would  not  be  the  colonnade  of  the  Parthenon,  but  the 
tower  of  Pekin.  Jt  is  for  man  to  build  mountains,  when  nature 
has  not  undulated  the  surface  of  the  earth ;  but  the  Russians 
have  raised  their  porticoes  and  pediments  without  thinking  of 
this,  and  without  recollecting  that  on  a  flat  and  naked  expanse,  it 
is  difficult  to  distinguish  edifices  with  so  small  an  elevation.  We 
still  recognise  the  steppes  of  Asia  in  cities  where  they  have  pre- 
tended to  revive  the  Roman  Forum.*  Muscovy  is  more  nearly 
allied  to  Asia  than  to  Europe.  The  genius  of  the  East  hovers 

*  These  observations  apply  only  to  the  buildings  constructed  from  the 
time  of  Peter  I.  The  Russians  of  the  middle  agea,  who  built  the  Kremlin, 
better  understood  the  architecture  which  belonged  to  their  land  and  their 
genius. 


TRIUMPHAL    ARCH.  95 

over  its  soil.  The  semicircle  of  edifices  opposite  the  imperial 
palace,  if  observed  sideways,  at  a  proper  distance,  has  the  effect 
of  an  incomplete  ancient  amphitheatre.  If  examined  more  nearly, 
we  see  only  a  series  of  decorations  that  have  to  be  replastered 
every  year,  in  order  to  repair  the  ravages  of  the  winter.  The 
ancients  built  with  indestructible  materials  under  a  favorable 
sky ;  here,  under  a  climate  which  destroys  every  thing,  they  raise 
palaces  of  wood,  houses  of  plank,  and  temples  of  plaster;  and, 
consequently,  the  Russian  workmen  pass  their  lives  in  rebuilding 
during  the  summer,  what  the  winter  has  demolished.  Nothing 
resists  the  effects  of  this  climate ;  even  the  edifices  that  appear 
the  most  ancient  have  been  reconstructed  but  yesterday ;  stone 
lasts  here  no  better  than  lime  and  mortar  elsewhere.  That 
enormous  piece  of  granite  which  forms  the  shaft  of  the  column 
of  Alexander,  is  already  worn  by  the  frost.  In  Petersburg  it  is 
necessary  to  use  bronze  in  order  to  support  granite ;  yet  notwith- 
standing these  warnings,  they  never  tire  of  imitating  the  taste  of 
southern  lands.  They  people  the  solitudes  of  the  pole  with 
statues  and  historical  bas-reliefs,  without  considering  that  in 
their  country  monuments  are  even  more  evanescent  than  memo- 
ries. Petersburg,  in  its  present  state,  is  but  the  scaffolding  of  a 
structure — when  the  structure  is  finished,  the  scaffolding  will  be 
removed.  This  chef-d'&uvre,  not  of  architecture  but  of  policy, 
is  the  New  Byzantium,  which,  in  the  deep  and  secret  aspirations 
of  the  Russian,  is  to  be  the  future  capital  of  Russia  and  of  the 
world. 

Facing  the  palace,  an  immense  arcade  pierces  the  already 
noticed  semicircular  range  of  buildings,  and  leads  into  the  Mors- 
koe  street.  Above  the  enormous  vault  is  placed  a  car  with  six 
horses  in  bronze,  guided  by  I  know  not  what  kind  of  allegorical 
or  historical  figure.  I  doubt  whether  there  could  be  elsewhere 
seen  anything  in  such  bad  taste  as  this  colossal  gate  opening 
under  a  house,  and  flanked  on  either  side  by  ordinary  dwellings, 
whose  vicinity  has  nevertheless  not  prevented  its  being,  under 
Russian  architects,  converted  into  a  triumphal  arch.  I  question 
the  merit  of  the  workmanship  of  the  car.  statue,  and  horses  ;  but 
were  they  ever  so  good,  they  are  so  ill  placed  that  I  should  not 
admire  them.  In  objects  of  art,  it  is  the  harmony  and  keeping 
of  the  whole  which  invite  to  the  examination  of  details ;  without 
merit  in  the  conception,  what  avails  a  delicacy  in  the  execution  ? 
But,  indeed,  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  equally  wanting  in 
the  productions  of  Russian  art.  Hitherto  this  art  has  been  con- 
fined to  imitating,  without  choice  or  taste,  the  good  or  the  evil 


96  A    RUSSIAN    STORM. 

of  other  lands.  If  the  design  be  entertained  of  reviving  ancient 
architecture,  it  can  only  be  done  by  strictly  copying,  and  by 
placing  such  copies  in  analogous  sites.  Every  thing  here  is  mean, 
although  colossal ;  for  in  architecture  it  is  not  the  dimensions 
of  the  walls  which  constitute  excellence,  but  the  purity  of  the 
style. 

I  cannot  cease  marvelling  at  the  passion  they  have  conceived 
here  for  light,  aerial  structures.  In  a  climate  where  there  is 
sometimes  a  difference  of  eighty  degrees  between  the  temperature 
of  winter  and  summer,  what  have  the  inhabitants  to  do  with 
porticoes,  arcades,  colonnades,  and  peristyles  ?  But  the  Russians 
are  accustomed  to  regard  even  nature  as  a  slave.  Obstinate  imi- 
tators, they  mistake  their  vanity  for  genius,  and  believe  them- 
selves destined  to  renew,  on  a  scale  yet  larger  than  the  original, 
all  the  wonders  of  the  world.  Such  creations  of  the  Russian 
sovereigns  as  I  have  hitherto  seen,  have  evinced,  not  the  love  of 
the  arts,  but  the  love  only  of  self. 

Among  other  boasts,  I  hear  it  said  by  many  Russians,  that 
their  climate  also  is  ameliorating !  Will  God,  then,  connive  at 
the  ambition  of  this  grasping  people  ?  Will  He  give  them  up 
even  the  sky  and  the  breeze  of  the  south  ?  Shall  we  see  Athens 
in  Lapland,  Rome  at  Moscow,  the  riches  of  the  Thames  in  the 
Gulf  of  Finland,  and  the  history  of  nations  reduced  to  a  question 
of  latitude  and  longitude  ? 

While  my  carriage,  after  leaving  the  palace,  was  crossing  ra- 
pidly the  immense  square  I  have  been  describing,  a  violent  wind 
raised  immense  clouds  of  dust,  and  I  could  only  see,  as  through 
a  veil,  the  equipages  that  were  passing  in  all  directions.  The 
dust  of  summer  is  one  of  the  plagues  of  Petersburg;  it  is  so 
troublesome  that  I  even  wish  for  the  winter  snow.  I  had 
scarcely  reached  my  hotel  when  a  tremendous  storm  burst  forth. 
Darkness  at  mid-day,  thunder  without  rain,  a  wind  which  blew 
down  houses,  and,  at  the  same  time,  a  suffocating  temperature, 
were  the  greeting  which  Heaven  gave  during  the  nuptial  banquet. 
The  superstitious  viewed  these  signs  as  ominous,  but  soon  became 
re-assured  by  observing  that  the  storm  did  not  last  long,  and  that 
the  air  was  purer  after  it  than  before.  I  recount  what  I  see, 
without  sympathizing  with  it,  for  I  have  no  interest  here  but  that 
which  actuates  a  curious  and  attentive  stranger.  There  is 
between  France  and  Russia  a  Chinese  wall — the  Slavonic  lan- 
guage and  character.  In  spite  of  the  notions  with  which  Peter 
the  Great  has  inspired  the  Russians,  Siberia  commences  on  the 
Vistula. 


CHARACTERISTICS    OF    THE    EMPEROR.  9*7 

Yesterday,  at  seven  o'clock,  I  returned  to  the  palace  with 
several  other  foreigners,  in  order  to  be  presented  to  the  Emperor 
and  Empress. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  former  cannot  for  a  single  in- 
stant forget  what  he  is,  nor  the  constant  attention  which  he  ex- 
cites ;  he  studies  attitude  incessantly, — from  whence  it  results 
that  he  is  never  natural,  not  even  when  he  is  sincere.  He  has 
three  expressions,  not  one  of  which  is  that  of  simple  benevolence. 
The  most  habitual  appears  to  be  that  of  severity.  Another, 
thougli  rarer  expression,  suits  perhaps  better  his  fine  face — it  is 
that  of  solemnity;  a  third  is  that  of  politeness,  in  which  are  mixed 
some  shades  of  gentleness  and  grace,  that  serve  to  temper  the 
chill  produced  by  the  two  former.  But  notwithstanding  this 
grace,  there  is  still  something  which  injures  the  moral  influence 
of  the  man  ;  it  is,  that  each  expression  is  assumed  and  cast  off  at 
will,  without  the  least  trace  of  one  remaining  to  modify  the  one 
next  adopted.  For  such  change  we  are  not  prepared,  and  it  there- 
fore appears  like  a  mask,  that  can  be  put  on  or  off  at  pleasure. 
Let  not  my  meaning  of  the  word  mask  be  misunderstood. — I  em- 
ploy it  according  to  its  strict  etymology.  In  Greek,  hypocrite 
means  an  actor :  the  hypocrite  was  a  man  who  masked  himself  to 
perform  a  play.  I  would  only  say,  then,  that  the  Emperor  is 
always  engaged  in  acting  his  part. 

Hypocrite  or  actor  are  ill-sounding  words,  especially  in  the 
mouth  of  one  who  professes  to  be  impartial  and  respectful.  But 
it  appears  to  me  that,  to  intelligent  readers — and  it  is  only  such 
that  I  address — words  are  nothing  in  themselves ;  their  import- 
ance depends  upon  the  sense  that  is  given  to  them.  I  do  not  say 
that  the  physiognomy  of  this  prince  lacks  candour,  but  it  lacks 
natural  expression.  Thus,  the  chief  evil  under  which  Russia 
suffers,  the  absence  of  liberty,  is  depicted  even  on  the  countenance 
of  its  sovereign  :  he  has  many  masks,  but  no  face.  Seek  for  the 
man.  and  you  still  always  find  the  Emperor. 

I  believe  this  remark  may  be  turned  to  his  praise ;  he  acts  his 
part  conscientiously.  He  would  accuse  himself  of  weakness  were 
he  to  be  for  a  single  moment  plain  and  simple,  or  were  he  to  allow 
it  to  be  seen  that  he  lived,  thought,  and  felt  as  do  common 
mortals.  Without  seeming  to  partake  of  any  of  our  affections, 
he  is  always  governor,  judge,  general,  admiral,  prince, — never 
uny  thing  more,  never  any  thing  less.  He  will  surely  grow 
weary  of  all  this  effort  as  he  advances  in  life  \  yet  it  will  place 
him  high  in  the  opinion  of  his  people,  and  perhaps  of  the  world, 
for  the  multitude  admire  the  efforts  which  astonish  them, — they 
5 


98  HIS    UNENVIABLE    STATE. 

pride  themselves  in  seeing  the  pains  that  are  taken  to  dazzle 
them. 

Those  who  knew  the  Emperor  Alexander,  eulogize  that  prince 
on  entirely  different  grounds.  The  qualities  and  faults  of  the 
two  brothers  were  altogether  opposite ;  there  was  no  resemblance, 
and  likewise  no  sympathy  between  them.  In  this  country,  the 
memory  of  a  defunct  emperor  is  little  honoured,  and  in  the  pre- 
sent instance  inclination  accords  with  the  policy  that  would 
always  have  the  preceding  reign  forgotten.  Peter  the  Great  is 
more  nearly  resembled  by  Nicholas  than  by  Alexander,  and  he 
is  more  the  fashion  at  the  present  day.  If  the  ancestors  of  the 
emperors  are  nattered,  their  immediate  predecessors  are  invaria- 
bly calumniated. 

The  present  Emperor  never  lays  aside  the  air  of  supremo 
majesty,  except  in  his  family  intercourse.  It  is  there  only  that 
he  recollects  that  the  natural  man  has  pleasures  independent  of 
the  duties  of  state ;  at  least,  I  hope  that  it  is  this  disinterested 
sentiment  which  attaches  him  to  his  domestic  circle.  His  private 
virtues  no  doubt  aid  him  in  his  public  capacity,  by  securing  for 
him  the  esteem  of  the  world;  but  I  believe  he  would  practise 
them  independently  of  this  calculation. 

Among  the  Russians,  sovereign  power  is  respected  like  reli- 
gion, the  obligations  and  authority  of  which  stand  independently 
of  the  personal  merits  of  its  priests:  the  virtues  of  the  prince 
being  superfluous,  are  so  much  the  more  sincere. 

If  I  lived  at  Petersburg  I  should  become  a  courtier,  not  from 
any  love  of  place  or  power,  nor  from  any  puerile  vanity,  but 
from  the  desire  of  discovering  some  road  that  might  reach  the 
heart  of  a  man  who  differs  from  all  others.  Insensibility  is  not 
in  him  a  natural  vice,  it  is  the  inevitable  result  of  a  position 
which  he  has  not  chosen,  and  which  he  cannot  quit. 

To  abdicate  a  disputed  power  would  be  sometimes  a  revenge, 
to  abdicate  an  absolute  power  would  be  an  act  of  cowardice. 

The  singular  destiny  of  an  Emperor  of  Russia  inspires  me, 
first,  with  a  lively  emotion  of  curiosity,  and  afterwards  with  a 
feeling  of  pity.  Who  would  not  commiserate  the  state  of  this 
glorious  exile1?  I  cannot  tell  whether  the  Emperor  Nicholas  has 
received  from  God  a  heart  susceptible  of  friendship,  but  I  feel 
as  though  the  desire  of  testifying  a  disinterested  attachment  to 
a  man  to  whom  society  refuses  equals,  might  take  the  place  of 
ambition.  The  danger  even,  would  give  to  such  zeal  the  charm 
of  enthusiasm.  What !  it  will  be  said,  attachment  for  a  man 
who  has  nothing  of  humanity  about  him  ;  whose  severe  physiog- 


HIS    UNENVIABLE    STATE.  99 

nomy  inspires  a  respect  always  mingled  with  fear,  whose  firm 
and  fixed  looks,  in  excluding  familiarity,  command  obedience,  and 
whose  mouth,  when  it  smiles,  does  not  harmonize  with  the  ex- 
pression of  the  eyes  ;  attachment  for  a  man,  in  short,  who  never 
for  a  moment  forgets  to  play  his  part  as  an  absolute  monarch ! 

And  wherefore  not  ?  This  want  of  harmony,  this  apparent 
harshness,  is  not  a  crime  but  a  misfortune.  I  view  in  it  a  forced 
habit,  not  a  natural  character  ;  and  believing  that  I  can  see  into 
this  man,  whom  you  calumniate  as  much  by  your  fears  and  your 
precautions  as  your  flatteries,  I  feel  all  that  it  must  cost  him  to 
perform  his  duty  as  a  sovereign,  and  I  would  not  abandon  so 
pitiable  a  deity  of  earth  to  the  implacable  envy  and  the  hypocrit- 
ical submission  of  his  slaves.  To  find  again  the  neighbour  in  the 
prince,  to  love  him  as  a  brother,  would  be  a  religious  vocation  and 
a  work  of  charity  that  would  gain  the  blessing  of  Heaven. 

The  more  we  see  of  the  court,  more  especially  of  the  court  of 
Russia,  the  greater  compassion  must  we  feel  for  him  who  has  to 
preside  over  it.  It  is  a  theatre,  on  whose  boards  the  actors  pass 
their  life  in  rehearsals.  No  one  knows  his  part,  and  the  day  for 
the  representation  never  arrives,  because  the  manager  is  never 
satisfied  with  the  proficiency  of  his  corps.  Actors  and  managers 
thus  pass  their  life  in  preparing,  correcting,  and  perfecting  their 
interminable  drama  of  society,  the  title  of  which  is  "  The  Civili- 
zation of  the  North."  If  it  be  so  fatiguing  to  the  audience,  what 
must  it  be  to  the  performers  ! 

The  Emperor  is,  by  extraction,  more  a  German  than  a  Russ. 
The  fineness  of  his  features,  the  regularity  of  his  profile,  his  mil- 
itary figure,  his  bearing,  naturally  a  little  stiff,  all  remind  one  of 
Germany  rather  than  of  Muscovy.  His  teutonic  temperament 
must  have  been  long  schooled  and  fettered  ere  he  could  have  be- 
come, as  he  now  is,  a  thorough  Russian.  Who  knows  ? — he  was 
perhaps  born  a  plain,  good-natured  man  !  If  so,  what  must  he 
not  have  endured  before  he  could  appear  only  as  the  chieftain  of 
the  Sclavonians  ?  The  obligation  of  achieving  a  continual  victory 
over  himself  in  order  to  reign  over  others,  will  explain  much  iu 
the  character  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas. 

Far  from  inspiring  me  with  dislike,  these  things  attract  me. 
I  cannot  help  viewing  with  interest  one  feared  by  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  who  is,  in  reality,  only  so  much  the  more  to  be  com- 
miserated. 

To  escape  as  much  as  possible  from  the  constraint  which  he 
imposes  on  himself,  he  is  as  restless  as  a  lion  in  a  cage,  or  a  pa- 
tient in  a  fever  ;  he  is  constantly  moving  on  foot  or  on  horse- 


100  A    COURT    PRESENTATION. 

back ;  reviewing,  carrying  on  little  wars,  sailing,  maneuvring  his 
fleets,  giving  and  receiving  fetes.  Leisure  is  that  which  is  most 
dreaded  at  this  court ;  whence  I  conclude  that  no  where  else  is 
ennui  so  much  felt.  The  Emperor  travels  incessantly  ;  he  jour- 
neys over  at  least  1,500  leagues  every  season,  and  he  has  no  no- 
tion that  others  have  not  the  strength  to  do  as  he  docs.  The 
Empress  loves  him,  and  dreads  leaving  him  ;  she  therefore  fol- 
lows him  as  well  as  she  can,  and  is  dying  of  the  fatigues  and  ex- 
citement consequent  upon  this  life. 

So  complete  an  absence  of  quiet  and  regularity  must  be  inju- 
rious to  the  education  of  their  children.  The  young  princes  do 
not  live  sufficiently  isolated  to  avoid  the  evil  influences  which  the 
frivolity  of  a  court  always  in  motion,  the  absence  of  all  interest- 
ing and  connective  conversation,  and  the  impossibility  of  medita- 
tion, must  exert  upon  their  character.  When  I  think  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  their  time,  I  have  little  hope  even  of  the  talents 
which  they  exhibit ;  I  fear  just  as  I  would  for  the  enduring 
beauty  of  a  flower  whose  roots  were  not  in  their  natural  soil. 
Every  thing  is  founded  on  appearance  in  Russia ;  whence  it  is 
that  every  thing  inspires  mistrust. 

I  was  presented  this  evening,  not  by  the  French  ambassador, 
but  by  the  grand  master  of  the  court  ceremonies.  Such  was  the 
order  of  the  Emperor,  of  which  I  was  previously  informed  by  our 
ambassador.  I  cannot  tell  whether  this  is  the  usual  proceeding, 
but  it  was  the  manner  in  which  I  was  presented  to  their  Impe- 
rial Majesties. 

All  the  foreigners  admitted  to  the  honour  of  approaching  their 
persons  were  assembled  together  in  one  of  the  saloons  which  they 
would  have  to  cross  in  proceeding  to  open  the  ball.  We  arrived 
at  the  appointed  hour,  and  had  to  wait  a  long  time  for  the  appear- 
ance of  the  illustrious  personages. 

There  were  with  me  two  or  three  French,  a  Pole,  a  Genevese 
and  several  Germans.  The  opposite  side  of  the  saloon  was  oc- 
cupied by  a  row  of  Russian  ladies,  assembled  there  to  pay  their 
court. 

The  Emperor  received  us  with  a  refined  and  graceful  polite- 
ness. At  the  first  glance  it  was  easy  to  recognise  a  man  who, 
notwithstanding  his  power,  is  obliged  and  accustomed  to  humour 
the  self-love  of  others. 

In  order  to  intimate  to  me  that  I  might,  without  displeasing 
him,  survey  his  empire,  His  Majesty  did  me  the  honour  of  saying 
that  it  was  at  least  necessary  to  see  Moscow  and  Nijni  before  a 
just  idea  of  the  country  could  be  formed.  "  Petersburg  is  Rus- 
sian," he  added,  "  but  it  is  not  Russia." 


AFFABILITY    OF    THE    EMPRESS.  101 

These  few  words  were  pronounced  in  a  tone  of  voice  that 
could  not  be  forgotten,  so  strongly  was  it  marked  by  authorita- 
tiveness  and  firmness.  Every  body  had  spoken  to  me  of  the 
imposing  manners,  the  noble  features,  and  the  commanding  figure 
of  the  Emperor,  but  no  one  had  prepared  mo  for'thd  power  of 
his  voice:  it  is  that  of  a  man  born  to  com.mand.  In  it, -there 
is  neither  effort  nor  study,  it  is  a  gift  developed'  only  byhibituul 
use. 

The  Empress,  on  a  near  approach,  has  a  most  winning  ex- 
pression of  countenance,  and  the  sound  of  her  voice  is  as  sweetly 
penetrating  as  that  of  the  Emperor's  is  naturally  imperious. 

She  asked  me  if  I  came  to  Petersburg  with  the  simple  object 
of  travelling.  I  replied  in  the  affirmative.  "  I  know  that  you 
are  a  curious  observer,"  she  continued. 

"  Yes,  Madame,"  I  answered,  "  it  is  curiosity  which  brings 
me  to  Russia ;  and  this  time,  at  least,  I  think  I  shall  not  regret 
having  yielded  to  a  passion  for  travel." 

"  You  really  think  so  ?  "  she  replied,  with  a  gracefulness  of 
manner  that  was  very  charming. 

"  It  appears  to  me  that  there  are  objects  so  wonderful  in  this 
country,  that  to  believe  them  requires  that  we  should  see  them 
with  the  eyes." 

"  I  should  wish  you  to  see  much,  and  to  view  favourably." 

"  This  wish  of  your  majesty  is  an  encouragement." 

"  If  you  think  well  of  us  you  will  say  so,  but  it  will  be  use- 
less ;  you  will  not  be  believed:  we  are  ill  understood,  and  people 
will  not  understand  us  better." 

These  words,  in  the  mouth  of  the  Empress,  struck  me,  on 
account  of  the  pre-occupation  of  idea  which  they  discovered.  I 
fancied  also  that  she  meant  to  manifest  a  kind  of  benevolence 
towards  me,  which  was  expressed  with  a  politeness  and  a  simpli- 
city that  are  rarely  seen. 

The  Empress,  the  moment  she  speaks,  inspires  confidence  as 
well  as  respect.  Through  the  reserve  which  the  language  and 
usages  of  court  render  compulsory,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  she  has 
a  heart.  This  misfortune  imparts  to  her  an  indescribable  charm. 
She  is  more  than  an  empress,  she  is  a  woman. 

She  appeared  to  be  suffering  from  extreme  fatigue.  The 
thinness  of  her  person  is  quite  shocking.  The  agitation  of  the 
life  she  leads  is  consuming  her,  and  they  say  that  the  ennui  of  a 
life  more  calm  would  be  equally  injurious. 

The  fete  which  followed  our  presentation  was  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  that  I  have  ever  seen.  The  admiration  and  astonish- 

/tjj^^ 
^^P  STATE  0?C..ll?Cr.: 

•  BBNIOIiv  DI2T3IOT 
V      TTR-RARY. 


102  FETE    AT    THE    PALACE. 

ment  with  which  each  saloon  of  this  palace  (rebuilt  in  a  year)  in- 
spired the  whole  court,  imparted  a  dramatic  interest  to  the  formal 
pomp  of  the  usual  ceremonies.  Every  hall  and  every  painting 
was  a  subject  of  surprise  to  the  Russians  themselves,  who  now, 
'for  the  first  Hnfe,  saw  the  marvellous  abode  which  the  word  of 
their  deity  had  caused  to  spring  from  its  ashes.  What  an  effort 
of  human  will,  I  ejaculated,  as  I  contemplated  each  gallery, 
se'a/pture,  and  painting.  The  style  of  the  ornaments  calls  to 
mind  the  age  in  which  the  palace  was  originally  founded,  and 
what  I  saw  appeared  already  ancient.  They  copy  every  thing  in 
Russia,  not  excepting  even  the  effects  of  time.  These  wonders 
inspired  the  crowd  with  an  admiration  that  was  contagious,  and 
my  internal  indignation  at  the  means  by  which  the  miracle  was 
created,  began  to  diminish.  If  I  could  feel  such  an  influence 
after  only  two  days'  abode  here,  what  allowance  should  not  be 
made  for  the  men  who  are  born,  and  who  pass  their  life  in  the 
air  of  the  Russian  court,  that  is,  in  Russia !  for  it  is  the  air  qf 
the  court  that  is  breathed  from  one  end  of  the  empire  to  the 
other.  Even  the  serfs,  through  their  relations  with  their  lords, 
feel  the  influence  of  that  sovereign  will  which  alone  animates  the 
country;  the  courtier,  who  is  their  master,  is  for  them  the  image  of 
the  Emperor,  and  the  court  is  present  to  the  Russians  wherever 
there  is  a  man  to  command  and  men  to  obey. 

Elsewhere,  the  poor  are  either  beggars,  or  unruly  members  of 
society ;  in  Russia  they  are  all  courtiers.  The  courtier  is  found 
in  every  rank  of  society,  and  for  this  reason  it  is  that  I  say  the 
court  is  every  where.  There  is,  between  the  sentiments  of  the 
Russian  nobles  and  those  of  men  of  family  in  ancient  Europe, 
the  same  difference  that  there  is  between  the  courtier  and  the 
aristocrat,  or  between  emotions  of  vanity  and  of  pride  :  true  pride, 
which  is  almost  as  rare  as  virtue,  is  virtue.  Instead  of  abusing 
courtiers,  as  Beaumarchais  and  so  many  others  have  done,  these 
men  who,  whatever  may  be  said,  are  like  other  men,  deserve  pity. 
Poor  unfortunate  courtiers !  they  are  not  the  monsters  that  our 
modern  plays  and  romances,  or  our  revolutionary  journals,  de- 
scribe ;  they  are  merely  weak  creatures,  corrupted  and  corrupt- 
ing, as  much  as,  but  not  more  than  others  who  are  less  exposed 
to  temptation.  Ennui  is  the  curse  of  riches,  still  it  is  not  a  crime  ; 
vanity  and  interest  are  more  strongly  excited,  and  therefore  more 
eagerly  sought  in  a  court  than  on  any  other  stage  of  action,  and  these 
passions  abridge  life  ;  but  if  the  hearts  they  agitate  are  more 
tormented,  they  are  not  more  perverse  than  those  of  other  men. 
Human  wisdom  would  accomplish  much  if  it  could  succeed  in 


COURT    DANCES.  103 

showing  to  the  multitude  how  much  it  ought  to  feel  of  pity,  in- 
stead of  envy,  towards  the  possessors  of  a  fancied  good. 

I  saw  them  dancing  in  the  very  place  where  they  had  them- 
selves nearly  perished  under  blazing  ruins,  and  where  others  had 
since  actually  died,  in  order  that  they  might  be  amused  on  the 
day  appointed  by  the  Emperor.  This  thought  made  me  reflect 
in  spite  of  myself,  and  shed  (for  me)  a  gloom  over  the  entire  fete. 
Elsewhere,  liberty  gives  birth  to  a  feeling  of  gladness  which  is 
favourable  to  illusion ;  here,  despotism  suggests  meditations 
which  make  it  impossible  to  deceive  one's  self. 

The  kind  of  dance  that  is  most  common  at  the  grand  fetes  of 
this  country,  does  not  disturb  the  course  of  ideas.  The  company 
promenade  in  a  solemn  step  to  the  sound  of  music,  each  gentle- 
man taking  his  partner  by  the  hand.  In  the  palace,  hundreds  of 
couples  thus  follow  in  procession,  proceeding  from  one  immense 
hall  to  another,  winding  through  the  galleries,  crossing  the 
saloons,  and  traversing  the  whole  building  in  such  order  or  direc- 
tion as  the  caprice  of  the  individual  who  leads  may  dictate.  This 
is  called  dancing  la  Polonaise.  It  is  amusing  at  first,  but  for 
those  destined  to  dance  it  all  their  lives,  balls  must,  I  think,  be  a 
species  of  torture. 

The  Polonaise  at  Petersburg  recalled  to  my  memory  the 
Congress  at  Vienna,  where  I  had  danced  it  in  1814.  No  eti- 
quette was  observed  in  the  European  fetes  celebrated  on  that 
occasion ;  every  one's  place  in  the  dance  was  regulated  by  haz- 
ard, though  in  the  midst  of  all  the  monarchs  of  the  earth.  My 
fate  had  placed  me  between  the  Emperor  Alexander  and  his  con- 
sort, who  was  a  princess  of  Baden.  All  at  once  the  line  of  the 
dancing  couples  was  stopped  without  our  perceiving  the  reason, 
as  the  music  continued  playing.  The  Emperor,  growing  impa- 
tient, put  his  head  over  my  shoulder,  and  addressing  himself  to 
the  Empress,  told  her,  in  a  very  rude  tone,  to  move  on.  The  Em- 
press turned,  and  perceiving  behind  me  the  Emperor,  with  a  lady 
as  his  partner  for  whom  he  had  for  some  days  past  betrayed  a 
violent  passion,  she  retorted  with  an  expression  altogether  inde- 
scribable, "  Toujours  poli ! "  The  autocrat  bit  his  lips  as  he 
caught  my  eye,  and  the  line  of  dance  again  moved  forward. 

I  was  dazzled  with  the  splendour  of  the  great  gallery ;  it  is 
now  entirely  gilded,  though  before  the  fire  it  was  only  painted 
white.  That  disaster  has  served  to  minister  to  the  taste  which 
the  Emperor  has  for  the  magnificent. 

All  the  ambassadors  of  Europe  had  been  invited  to  admire 
the  marvellous  achievement  of  this  government — a  government 


104  THE    RUSSIAN    COURT    DRESS. 

which  is  so  much  the  more  bitterly  criticised  by  the  vulgar,  as  it 
is  admired  and  envied  by  political  men, — minds  essentially  prac- 
tical, and  who  approve  the  simplicity  of  the  machine  of  despot- 
ism. One  of  the  largest  palaces  in  the  world  built  in  a  year ! 
what  a  subject  of  admiration  for  men  accustomed  to  breathe  the 
air  of  courts  ! 

What  appeared  to  me  more  splendid  even  than  the  ball-room 
in  the  Winter  Palace,  was  the  gallery  in  which  supper  was 
served.  It  is  not  entirely  finished,  and  the  lights  in  temporary 
paper  transparencies  had  a  fantastic  appearance  which  did  not 
displease  me.  So  unexpected  an  illumination  in  honour  of  the 
marriage-day,  did  not  certainly  correspond  witli  the  general  de- 
corations of  the  magical  palace,  but  it  produced  a  light  clear  as 
the  sun,  and  this  was  enough  for  me.  One  of  the  results  of  the 
progress  of  commercial  economy  is,  that  we  no  longer  see  in  France 
any  thing  but  ta.pers  ;  there  seem  to  be  yet  in  Russia  real  wax 
candles.  The  supper-table  was  splendid  :  at  this  fete  every  thing 
was  colossal,  every  thing  was  also  innumerable  of  its  kind ;  and 
I  scarcely  knew  which  most  to  admire,  the  superb  effect  of  the 
whole,  or  the  magnificence  and  the  quantity  of  the  objects  con- 
sidered separately.  A  thousand  persons  were  seated  together  at 
the  table. 

Among  these  thousand,  all  more  or  less  blazing  with  gold  and 
diamonds,  was  the  Khan  of  the  Kirguises,  whom  I  had  seen  at 
the  chapel  in  the  morning.  I  remarked  also  an  old  Queen  of 
Georgia,  who  had  been  dethroned  thirty  years  previously.  The 
Door  woman  languished  unhonoured,  at  the  court  of  her  con- 
queror. Her  face  was  tanned  like  that  of  a  man's  used  to  the 
fatigues  of  the  camp,  and  her  attire  was  ridiculous.  We  are  too 
ready  to  laugh  at  misfortune  when  it  appears  under  a  form  that 
does  not  please  us.  We  should  wish  to  see  a  Queen  of  Georgia 
rendered  more  beautiful  by  her  distress ;  but  I  here  saw  just  the 
contrary,  and,  when  the  eyes  are  displeased,  the  heart  soon 
becomes  unjust.  It  was  not  generous,  but  I  confess  I  could  not 
help  smiling  to  see  a  royal  head  crowned  with  a  kind  of  shako, 
from  whence  hung  a  very  odd-looking  veil.  All  the  other  ladies 
wore  trains  j  but  the  queen  of  the  East  had  on  a  short  em- 
broidered petticoat.  There  was  much  of  the  worn-out  and 
wearied  courtier  in  her  expression,  and  her  features  were  ugly. 
The  national  dress  of  the  Russian  ladies  at  court  is  antique  and 
striking.  They  wear  on  the  head  a  kind  of  tower,  formed  of  rich 
stuif,  and  somewhat  resembling  in  shape  the  crown  of  a  man's 
hat,  lowered  in  height  and  open  at  the  top.  This  species  of 


THE    SUPPER.  105 

diadem  is  generally  embroidered  with  jewels  :  it  is  very  ancient, 
and  imparts  an  air  of  nobleness  and  originality  to  handsome  per- 
sons, while  it  singularly  enhances  the  ugliness  of  plain  ones. 
Unfortunately,  these  last  are  very  numerous  at  the  Russian  court, 
whence  people  seldom  retire,  except  to  die,  so  attached  are  the 
aged  courtiers  to  the  posts  which  they  there  hold.  In  general, 
female  beauty  is  rare  at  Petersburg;  but  among  the  higher 
classes,  the  charm  of  graceful  manners  often  supplies  the  want 
of  elegant  forms  and  regular  features.  There  are,  however,  a 
few  Georgian  women  who  unite  the  two  advantages.  These 
females  shine  amid  the  women  of  the  North,  like  stars  in  the  pro- 
found darkness  of  a  Southern  night.  The  shape  of  the  court  robes, 
with  their  long  sleeves  and  trains,  gives  to  the  whole  person  an 
Oriental  aspect  which,  in  a  large  assembly  thus  robed,  has  a  very 
imposing  effect. 

An  incident,  singular  enough  in  its  character,  has  afforded  me 
a  specimen  of  the  perfect  politeness  of  the  Emperor. 

During  the  ball,  a  master  of  the  ceremonies  had  indicated  to 
such  of  the  foreigners  as  appeared  for  the  first  time  at  this  court, 
the  places  that  were  reserved  for  them  at  the  supper-table. 
"  When  you  see  the  ball  interrupted,"  he  said  to  each  of  us, 
"  follow  the  crowd  into  the  gallery,  where  you  will  find  a  large 
table  laid  out ;  take  the  side  to  the  right,  and  seat  yourselves  in 
the  first  places  you  find  unoccupied." 

There  was  but  one  table,  laid  with  one  hundred  covers,  for  the 
corps  diplomatique,  the  foreigners,  and  all  the  attendants  at  court  \ 
but  at  the  entrance  of  the  hall,  on  the  right-hand  side,  was  a  little 
round  table  laid  for  eight. 

A  G-enevese,  an  intelligent  and  well-educated  young  man,  had 
been  presented  the  same  evening,  in  the  uniform  of  a  national 
guardsman,  a  dress  which  is  in  general  anything  but  agreeable 
to  the  Emperor ;  nevertheless,  the  young  Swiss  appeared  per- 
fectly at  home.  Whether  it  was  owing  to  natural  assurance,  re- 
publican ease,  or  pure  simplicity  of  heart,  he  seemed  neither  to 
think  of  the  persons  around  him,  nor  of  the  effect  that  he  might 

Produce  upon  them.     I  envied  his  perfect  self-confidence,  which 
was  far  from  participating.      Out  manners,  though  very  differ- 
ent, had  the  same  success  ;  the  Emperor  treated  us  both  equally 
well. 

An  experienced  and  intelligent  person  had  recommended  to  me, 
in  a  tone  half  serious,  half  jocose,  to  maintain  a  respectful  and 
rather  timid  air  if  I  wished  to  please  the  monarch.     The  coun- 
sel was  quite  superfluous,  for  if  I  were  to  enter  the  hut  of  a 
5* 


106  THE    GENEVESE    AT    SUPPER. 

collier,  in  order  to  make  his  acquaintance,  I  should  experience 
some  little  degree  of  physical  embarrassment,  so  naturally  do  I 
shrink  from  society.  A  man  has  never  German  blood  without 
showing  it;  I  possessed,  therefore,  naturally,  the  degree  of  timi- 
dity and  reserve  requisite  to  satisfy  the  jealous  majesty  of  the 
Czar,  who  would  be  as  great  as  he  wishes  to  appear,  if  he  were 
less  prepossessed  with  the  notion  that  those  who  approach  him 
are  likely  to  fail  in  respect.  This  inquietude  of  the  Emperor 
does  not,  however,  always  operate  ;  of  which,  and  of  the  natural 
dignity  of  that  prince,  the  following  is  an  instance. 

The  Genevese,  far  from  partaking  of  my  old  fashioned  modesty, 
was  perfectly  at  his  ease.  He  is  young,  and  has  about  him  all 
the  spirit  of  the  age,  mingled  with  a  simplicity  of  his  own  ;  and 
I  could  not  but  admire  his  air  of  assurance  each  time  the  Empe- 
ror addressed  him. 

The  affability  of  the  monarch  was  soon  put  by  the  young  Swiss 
to  a  decisive  proof.  On  passing  into  the  banquet  hall,  the  repub- 
lican, turning  towards  the  right,  according  to  the  instruction  he 
had  received,  observed  the  little  round  table,  and  intrepidly  seated 
himself  before  it.  though  there  was  no  other  person  to  keep  him 
company.  The  moment  after,  the  crowd  of  guests  being  placed, 
the  Emperor,  followed  by  some  officers  who  enjoyed  his  special 
confidence,  advanced  and  took  his  seat  at  the  same  table  at  which 
was  placed  the  worthy  Swiss  national  guardsman.  I  should  state 
that  the  Empress  was  not  at  this  table.  The  traveller  remained 
in  his  chair  with  the  imperturbable  ease  which  I  had  already  so 
much  admired  in  him,  and  which,  under  the  circumstances,  was 
really  admirable. 

A  seat  was  wanting,  for  the  Emperor  had  not  expected  this 
ninth  guest ;  but,  with  a  politeness  the  completeness  of  which 
was  equivalent  to  the  delicacy  of  a  kind  heart,  he  spoke  in  a  low 
voice  to  a  servant,  directing  him  to  bring  a  chair  and  another 
cover,  which  was  done  without  any  noise  or  trouble. 

Being  placed  at  the  extremity  of  the  great  table,  close  to  that 
of  the  Emperor's,  this  procedure  could  not  escape  my  observation, 
nor,  consequently,  that  of  him  who  was  its  object.  But  this  hap- 
pily-constituted young  man,  far  from  troubling  himself  because 
he  perceived  he  had  been  placed  contrary  to  the  intention  of  the 
sovereign,  maintained,  with  the  most  perfect  sang-froid,  a  con- 
versation with  his  two  nearest  neighbours,  which  lasted  during 
the  whole  repast.  I  thought  to  myself,  he  has  good  sense  ;  he 
wishes  to  avoid  a  scene  :  but,  no  doubt,  he  only  waits  the  moment 
when  the  Emperor  rises,  to  approach  him,  and  to  offer  some  word 


NIGHT-SCENE    IN    THE    NORTH.  107 

9 

of  explanation.  Nothing  of  the  kind  !  When  supper  was  over, 
the  young  Swiss,  far  from  excusing  himself,  seemed  to  view  the 
honour  he  had  received  as  nothing  more  than  was  quite  natural. 
On  returning  to  his  lodging,  he  would  doubtless  inscribe,  with  the 
most  perfect  simplicity,  in  his  journal — "  Supped  with  the  Em- 
peror." However,  his  majesty  rather  abridged  the  pleasure : 
rising,  before  the  guests  who  sat  at  the  great  table,  he  passed 
round,  behind  our  chairs,  all  the  while  desiring  that  we  should 
remain  seated.  The  Hereditary  Grand  Duke  accompanied  his 
father ;  I  observed  that  young  prince  stop  behind  the  chair  of  a 

great  English  nobleman,  the  Marquis ,  and  exchange  some 

jest  with  young  Lord ,  son  of  the  same  marquis.  The  fo- 
reigners remained  seated,  like  every  body  else,  answered  the 
prince  and  the  Emperor  with  their  backs  turned,  and  continued 
eating. 

The  above  exhibition  of  English  politeness  shows  that  the 
Emperor  of  Russia  has  greater  plainness  of  manners  than  have 
many  of  the  owners  of  private  houses. 

I  had  scarcely  expected  to  find  at  this  ball  a  pleasure  altoge- 
ther foreign  to  the  persons  and  objects  around.  I  allude  to  the 
impressions  which  the  great  phenomena  of  nature  have  always 
produced  in  me.  The  temperature  of  the  day  had  risen  to  fifty 
degrees,  and  notwithstanding  the  freshness  of  the  evening,  the 
atmosphere  of  the  palace  during  the  fete  was  suffocating.  On 
rising  from  table,  I  took  refuge  in  the  embrasure  of  an  open  win- 
dow. There,  completely  abstracted  from  all  that  passed  around, 
I  was  suddenly  struck  with  admiration  at  beholding  one  of  those 
effects  of  light  which  we  see  only  in  the  North,  during  the  magic 
brightness  of  a  polar  night.  It  was  half-past  twelve  o'clock,  and 
the  nights  having  yet  scarcely  begun  to  lengthen,  the  dawn  of 
day  appeared  already  in  the  direction  of  Archangel.  The  wind 
had  fallen :  numerous  successive  and  regular  belts  of  black  and 
motionless  clouds  divided  the  firmament  into  zones,  each  of 
which  was  irradiated  with  a  light  so  brilliant,  that  it  appeared 
like  a  polished  plate  of  silver ;  its  lustre  was  reflected  on  the 
Neva,  to  whose  vast  and  unrippled  surface  it  gave  the  appear- 
ance of  a  lake  of  milk  or  of  mother-of-pearl.  The  greater  part  of 
Petersburg,  with  its  quays  and  spires,  was,  under  this  light,  re 
vealed  before  my  eyes ;  the  whole  formed  a  perfect  composition 
of  Breughel's.  The  tints  of  the  picture  cannot  be  described  by 
words.  The  domes  of  the  church  of  Saint  Nicholas  stood  in  the 
relief  of  lapis  lazuli  against  a  sky  of  silver  ;  the  illuminated  por- 
tico of  the  Exchange,  the  lamps  of  which  were  partially  quenched 


108  INTERVIEW   WITH    THE    EMPRESS. 

by  the  dawning  day,  still  gleamed  on  the  water  of  the  river,  and 
was  reflected — a  peristyle  of  gold :  the  rest  of  the  city  was  of 
that  blue  which  we  see  in  the  distances  of  landscapes  by  the  old 
painters.  This  fantastic  picture,  painted  on  a  ground  of  ultra- 
marine, and  framed  by  a  gilded  window,  contrasted,  in  a  manner 
that  was  altogether  supernatural,  with  the  light  and  splendour  of 
the  interior  of  the  palace.  It  might  have  been  said  that  the  city, 
the  sky,  the  sea,  and  the  whole  face  of  nature,  had  joined  in  con- 
tributing to  the  magnificence  of  the  fete  given  to  his  daughter  by 
the  sovereign  of  these  immense  regions. 

I  was  absorbed  in  the  contemplation  of  the  scene,  when  a 
sweet  and  penetrating  female  voice  suddenly  aroused  me  with  the 
question — "  What  are  you  doing  here  ?" 

"  Madame,  I  am  indulging  in  admiration.  I  can  do  nothing 
else  to-day." 

It  was  the  Empress.  She  stood  alone  with  me  in  the  embra- 
sure of  the  window,  which  was  like  a  pavilion  opening  on  the 
Neva. 

"  As  for  me,  I  am  sufib eating,"  replied  Her  Majesty.  "  It  is 
less  poetical,  I  admit ;  but  you  are  right  in  admiring  this  picture : 
it  is  magnificent !  "  Continuing  to  contemplate  it,  she  added — 
"  I  am  certain  that  you  and  I  are  the  only  persons  here  who  have 
remarked  this  effect  of  light." 

"  Every  thing  I  see  is  new  to  me,  Madame ;  and  I  can  never 
cease  to  regret  that  I  did  not  come  to  Russia  in  my  youth." 

"  The  heart  and  the  imagination  are  always  young." 

I  ventured  no  answer ;  for  the  Empress,  as  well  as  myself, 
had  no  longer  any  other  youth  but  that  of  which  she  spate,  and 
of  this  fact  I  did  not  wish  to  remind  her ,  she  would  not  have 
given  me  the  time,  nor,  indeed,  should  I  have  had  the  boldness, 
to  tell  her  how  many  indemnifications  may  be  found  to  console  us 
for  the  flight  of  years.  On  retiring,  she  said,  with  a  grace  which 
is  her  distinguishing  attribute,  "  I  shall  recollect  having  suffered 
and  admired  with  you : "  and  she  afterwards  added,  "  I  do  not 
leave  yet ;  we  shall  meet  again  this  evening." 

I  am  very  intimate  with  a  Polish  family,  which  is  that  of  the 

woman  whom  the  Empress  loves  best — the  Baroness .  This 

lady  was  brought  up  in  Prussia  with  the  daughter  of  the  King, 
has  followed  that  princess  to  Russia,  and  has  never  quitted  her. 
She  has  married  in  Petersburg,  where  she  has  no  other  office  but 
that  of  friend  to  the  Empress.  Such  constancy  is  honourable  to 
both.  The  baroness  must  have  been  speaking  well  of  me  to  the 
Emperor  and  Empress,  and  my  natural  timidity — a  flattery  so 


RUSSIAN    CROWDS.  109 

much   the  more  refined  as  it  is  involuntary — has  completed  my 
good  fortune. 

On  leaving  the  supper  saloon  to  pass  into  the  ball-room,  I 
again  approached  a  window.  It  opened  into  the  interior  court  of 
the  palace.  A  spectacle  was  there  presented  to  me  very  different, 
but  quite  as  unexpected  as  the  former.  The  grand  court  of  the 
Winter  Palace  is  square,  like  that  of  the  Louvre.  During  the 
ball,  this  enclosure  had  been  gradually  filling  with  people.  The 
light  of  the  dawning  day  had  become  more  distinct ;  and  in  look- 
ing on  the  multitude,  mute  with  admiration,  motionless,  fascinated, 
as  it  were,  by  the  splendours  of  its  master's  palace,  and  drinking 
in,  with  a  sort  of  timid,  animal  delight,  the  emanations  of  the 
royal  festival.  I  experienced  an  impression  of  pleasure.  At  last, 
then,  I  had  found  a  crowd  in  Russia :  I  saw  nothing  below  me 
but  men  :  and  so  close  was  the  press,  that  not  an  inch  of  earth 
could  be  discovered.  Nevertheless,  in  despotic  lands,  the  diver- 
sions of  the  people,  when  they  approach  those  of  the  prince,  al- 
ways appear  to  me  suspicious.  The  fear  and  flattery  of  the  low, 
and  the  pride  and  hypocritical  generosity  of  the  great,  are  the 
only  sentiments  which  I  can  believe  to  be  genuine  among  men 
who  live  under  the  regime  of  the  Russian  autocracy. 

In  the  midst  of  the  fetes  of  Petersburg,  I  cannot  forget  the 
journey  of  the  Empress  Catherine  into  the  Crimea,  and  the 
facades  of  villages,  made  of  planks  or  painted  canvass,  and  set 
up,  in  the  distance,  at  every  quarter  league  of  the  route,  in  order 
to  make  the  triumphant  sovereign  believe  that  the  desert  had  be- 
come peopled  under  her  reign.  A  spirit  similar  to  that  which 
dictated  these  illusions  still  possesses  the  minds  of  the  Russians; 
every  one  masks  the  evil,  and  obtrudes  the  good  before  the  eyes 
of  his  Imperial  master.  There  is  a  permanent  conspiracy  of 
smiles,  plotting  against  the  truth,  in  favour  of  the  mental  satisfac- 
tion of  him  who  is  reputed  to  will  and  to  act  for  the  good  of  all. 
The  Emperor  is  the  only  man  in  the  empire  who  lives ;  for  eat- 
ing and  drinking  is  not  living. 

It  must  be  owned,  however,  that  the  people  had  come  here 
voluntarily ;  nothing  appeared  to  compel  them  to  remain  under 
the  windows  of  the  Emperor  :  they  were  amusing  themselves, 
therefore,  but  it  was  only  with  the  pleasures  of  their  masters, 
and,  as  Froissart  says,  very  sorrily.  The  head-dress  of  the  wo- 
men, and  the  Russian,  that  is  to  say  the  Persian,  costume  of  the 
men  in  their  long  robes  and  brightly  colored  sashes,  the  variety 
of  colours,  and  the  imiuovableness  of  each  individual,  created  the 
illusion  of  an  immense  Turkey  carpet,  spread  entirely  over  the 


110  REMARKS    ON    THE    RUSSIANS. 

court  by  the  magician  who  presides  here  over  every  miracle  : — a 
parterre  of  heads, — such  was  the  most  striking  ornament  of  the 
palace  of  the  Emperor  during  the  night  of  his  daughter's  nup- 
tials. The  monarch  thought  as  I  did,  for  he  pointed  out  to  the 
foreigners,  with  much  complacency,  the  silent  crowd,  whose  pre- 
sence alone  testified  his  participation  in  the  happiness  of  its  mas- 
ter. It  was  the  vision  of  a  people  on  their  knees  before  the  in- 
visible gods.  Their  majesties  are  the  divinities  of  this  Elysium, 
where  the  inhabitants,  trained  to  resignation,  invent  for  them- 
selves a  felicity  made  up  of  privation  and  sacrifices. 

I  begin  to  perceive  that  I  am  here  talking  like  the  radicals 
in  Paris.  But,  though  a  democrat  in  Russia,  I  am  not  the  less  in 
France  an  obstinate  aristocrat :  it  is  because  a  peasant  in  the  en- 
virons of  Paris  is  freer  than  a  Russian  lord,  that  I  thus  feel  and 
write.  We  must  travel  before  we  can  learn  the  extent  to  which 
the  human  mind  is  influenced  by  optical  effects.  This  experience 
confirms  the  observation  of  Madame  de  Stae'l,  who  said,  that  in 
France,  "  every  body  is  either  Jacobin  or  ultra  something." 

I  returned  to  my  lodgings  overwhelmed  with  the  grandeur 
and  magnificence  of  the  Emperor,  and  yet  more  astonished  at 
seeing  the  disinterested  admiration  of  his  people  for  the  good 
things  which  they  do  not  possess,  nor  ever  will,  and  which  they 
do  not  dare  even  to  regret.  If  I  did  not  daily  see  to  how  many 
ambitious  egotists  liberty  gives  birth,  I  should  have  difficulty  in 
believing  that  despotism  could  make  so  many  disinterested  phi- 
losophers. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Note. — Excitement  of  a  Petersburg  life.— The  Emperor  truly  a  Russian.— Affability  of  the 
Empress  —Comparison  between  Paris  and  Petersburg.— Definition  of  politeness. — Fete 
at  the  Michael  Palace.— Conversation  with  the  Grand  Duchess  Helena.— Beautiful  Illu- 
mination.—A  Grove  in  a  Ball-Room. — Jet  d'Eau. — Future  prospects  of  Democracy.—  In- 
teresting Conversation  with  the  Emperor. — Russia  explained. — Improvements  in  the 
Kremlin  —An  English  Nobleman  and  his  Family.— English  politeness. — Anecdote  in 
Note.— The  Grand  Chamberlain.— Severe  Reprimand  of  the  Emperor's. 

NOTE. 

THE  following  chapter  was  forwarded,  in  the  shape  of  a  letter,  from  Peters- 
burg to  Paris,  by  a  person  whom  I  could  depend  upon ;  and  the  friend  to 
whom  it  was  addressed  has  preserved  it  for  me,  as  some  of  the  details  ap- 
peared to  him  curious.  If  its  tone  seem  more  eulogistic  than  that  of  those 


EXCITEMENT    OF    A    PETERSBURG    LIFE.  I'l  1 

f  have  kept  myself,  it  is  because  too  great  a  sincerity  might,  under  certain 
circumstances,  have  compromised  the  obliging  party  who  had  offered  to 
take  charge  of  my  dispatch.  In  this  chapter,  therefore,  and  only  in  this, 
I  felt  obliged  to  magnify  the  good,  and  to  extenuate  the  evil.  This  is  a 
confession  :  but  the  least  disguise  would  be  a  fault  in  a  work,  the  value  of 
which  depends  upon  the  scrupulous  fidelity  of  the  writer. 

I  wish,  therefore,  that  this  chapter  be  read  with  rather  more  caution  than 
i!i 3  others;  and  especially  that  the  notes  which  serve  to  correct  it  may  not 
IK*  passed  over. 


ONE  ought  to  be  a  Russian,  or  even  the  Emperor  himself,  to 
bear  the  fatigue  of  a  life  at  Petersburg.  In  the  evening  there 
are  fetes,  such  as  are  only  seen  in  Russia ;  in  the  morning,  court 
ceremonies  and  receptions,  public  solemnities,  or  reviews  upon 
sea  or  land.  A  vessel  of  120  guns  has  just  been  launched  on 
the  Neva  before  the  whole  court ;  but  though  the  largest  vessel 
that  the  river  has  ever  borne,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that  there 
was  any  crowd  at  this  naval  spectacle.  Space  is  that  which  the 
Russians  least  want,  and  through  which  they  most  suffer.  The 
four  or  five  hundred  thousand  men  who  inhabit  Petersburg,  with- 
out peopling  it,  are  lost  in  the  vast  enclosure  of  the  immense 
city,  the  heart  of  which  is  composed  of  granite  and  brass,  the 
body  of  plaster  and  of  mortar,  the  extremities  of  painted  wood 
and  rotten  planks.  These  planks  are  raised  in  a  solitary  marsh 
like  walls  around  the  city,  which  resembles  a  colossal  statue  with 
feet  of  clay.*  It  is  like  none  of  the  other  capitals  of  the  civil- 
ized world,  even  though,  in  its  construction,  all  have  been  copied; 
but  man  in  vain  seeks  for  models  in  distant  lands  :  the  soil  and 
the  climate  are  his  masters  ;  they  oblige  him  to  create  novelties, 
when  he  desires  only  to  revive  the  antique. 

I  was  present  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  but  I  do  not  recol- 
lect seeing  any  thing  to  be  compared  to  the  richness  of  the  jewels 
and  dresses,  the  gorgeous  variety  of  the  uniforms,  or  the  grandeur 
and  admirable  ordering  of  the  whole  spectacle,  in  the  fete  given 
by  the  Emperor,  on  the  evening  of  the  marriage  of  his  daughter, 
in  this  same  Winter  Palace — burnt  down  only  a  year  ago. 

Peter  the  Great  is  not  dead !  His  moral  strength  lives,  and 
operates  still.  Nicholas  is  the  only  Russian  sovereign  that  Rus- 
sia has  had  since  the  reign  of  the  founder  of  its  metropolis. 

*  The  quays  of  the  Nova,  arc  composed  of  granite,  the  cupola  of  Saint 
Isaac  of  copper,  the  Winter  Palace  and  the  column  of  Alexander  of  fine 
Btone,  marble,  and  granite,  and  the  Btatue  of  Peter  I.  of  brass. 


112  THE    EMPEROR    TRULY    A    RUSSIAN. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  soiree  given  at  court  to  celebrate  the 
nuptials  of  the  Grand  Duchess  Maria,  the  Empress  sent  some 
officers  to  look  for  me,  who  searched  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
without  being  able  to  find  me.  I  was  standing  apart,  according 
to  my  frequent  practice,  still  absorbed  in  contemplating  the 
beauty  of  the  heavens  and  admiring  the  night,  against  the  same 
window  where  the  Empress  had  left  me.  Since  supper,  I  had 
quitted  this  place  only  for  an  instant,  to  follow  in  the  train  of 
Their  Majesties ;  but  not  having  been  observed,  I  returned  into 
the  gallery,  where  I  could  contemplate  at  leisure  the  romantic 
spectacle  of  the  sun  rising  over  a  great  city  during  a  court  ball. 
The  officers  at  length  discovered  me  in  my  hiding-place,  and 
hastened  to  lead  me  to  the  Empress,  who  was  waiting  for  me. 
She  had  the  goodness  to  say  before  all  the  court,  "  M.  de  Custine, 
I  have  been  inquiring  for  you  for  a  long  time ;  why  did  you  avoid 
me  ?  " 

"  Madame,  I  twice  placed  myself  before  Your  Majesty,  but 
you  did  not  observe  me." 

"  It  was  your  own  fault,  for  I  have  been  seeking  for  you  ever 
since  I  entered  the  ball-room.  I  wish  you  to  see  every  thing 
here  in  detail,  in  order  that  you  may  carry  from  Russia  an  opinion 
which  may  rectify  that  of  the  foolish  and  the  mischievously  dis- 
posed." 

"  Madnme,  I  am  far  from  attributing  to  myself  a  power  that 
could  effect  this  ;  but  if  my  impressions  were  communicable, 
France  would  imagine  Russia  to  be  Fairy-land." 

"  You  must  not  judge  by  appearances,  you  must  look  deeply 
into  things,  for  you  possess  everything  that  can  enable  you  to  do 
this.  Adieu !  I  only  wished  to  say  good  evening  ; — the  heat 
fatigues  me.  Do  not  forget  to  inspect  my  new  apartments  ;  they 
have  been  remodelled  according  to  a  plan  of  the  Emperor's.  I 
will  give  orders  for  everything  to  be  shown  to  you."  On  with- 
drawing, she  left  me  the  object  of  general  curiosity,  and  of  the 
apparent  good-will  of  the  courtiers. 

This  court  life  is  so  new  that  it  amuses  me.  It  is  like  a 
journey  in  the  olden  times  :  I  could  imagine  myself  at  Versailles 
a  century  ago.  Politeness  aiid  magnificence  are  here  natural. 
It  will  be  seen  by  this  how  different  Petersburg  is  from  our 
Paris  of  the  present  day.  At  Paris  there  is  luxury,  riches,  and 
even  elegance ;  but  there  is  neither  grandeur  nor  courtesy.  Ever 
since  the  first  revolution,  we  have  dwelt  in  a  conquered  country, 
where  the  spoilers  and  the  spoiled  consort  together  as  well  as  they 
are  able.  In  order  to  be  polite,  it  is  necessary  to  have  something 


CONVERSATION    WITH    THE    GRAND    DUCHESS    HELENA.         113 

to  give.  Politeness  is  the  art  of  doing  to  others  the  honours  of 
the  advantages  we  possess,  whether  of  our  minds,  our  riches,  our 
rank,  or  our  standing.  To  be  polite,  is  to  know  how  to  offer  and 
to  accept  with  grace ;  but  when  a  person  has  nothing  certain  of 
his  own,  he  cannot  give  any  thing.  In  France  at  the  present 
time,  nothing  is  exchanged  through  mutual  good  will ;  every 
thing  is  snatched  by  means  of  interest,  ambition,  or  fear.  Con- 
versation even  becomes  insipid,  when  the  secret  calculations  of 
interest  cease  to  animate  it.  Mind  itself  is  only  valued,  when  it 
can  be  turned  to  personal  account. 

A  fixed  security  of  position  in  society  is  the  basis  of  courtesy 
in  all  its  relations,  and  the  source  also  of  those  sallies  of  wit 
that  enliven  conversation. 

Scarcely  had  we  rested  from  the  fatigues  of  the  court  ball, 
when  we  had  to  attend,  in  the  Michael  Palace,  another  fute  given 
yesterday  by  the  Grand  Duchess  Helena,  sister-in-law  of  the 
Emperor,  wife  of  the  Grand  Duke  Michael,  arid  daughter  of 
Prince  Paul  of  Wiirtemberg,  who  lives  at  Paris.  She  is  spoken 
of  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished  personages  in  Europe,  and 
her  conversation  is  extremely  interesting.  I  had  the  honour  of 
being  presented  to  her  before  the  ball  commenced,  when  she  only 
addressed  a  word  to  me,  but  during  the  evening,  she  gave  me  se- 
veral opportunities  of  conversing  with  her. 

The  following  is,  as  far  as  I  can  recollect,  the  summary  of 
what  was  said  : — 

"  I  hear,  that  in  Paris  and  its  neighbourhood,  you  move  in  a 
very  agreeable  circle  of  society." 

"  It  is  true,  madame,  the  conversation  of  persons  of  mind  is 
my  greatest  pleasure,  but  I  was  far  from  venturing  to  suppose 
that  your  Imperial  Highness  would  have  been  acquainted  with 
this  circumstance." 

"  We  know  Paris,  and  we  are  aware  that  there  are  there  some 
few  who  are  conversant  with  things  as  they  now  are,  and  who,  at 
the  same  time,  do  riot  forget  the  past.  These  are,  I  doubt  not, 
your  friends.  We  admire,  through  their  writings,  several  of  the 
persons  whom  you  see  habitually,  especially  Madame  Gay,  and 
her  daughter,  Madame  de  Girardiu." 

"  Those  ladies  are  very  intellectual :  I  have  the  good  fortune 
to  be  their  friend." 

"  You  possess  in  them  friends  of  a  superior  character." 

Nothing  is  so  rare  as  to  think  ourselves  obliged  to  feel  modesty 
for  others ;  it  was,  however,  a  sentiment  which  I,  in  a  slight  de- 
gree, experienced  at  this  moment.  It  will  be  said  that,  of  all 


114  MAGIC    FETES. 

modesty,  this  costs  the  least  in  its  manifestation.  However  much 
it  may  be  ridiculed,  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  I  felt  I  should 
have  wanted  delicacy,  had  I  endeavoured  to  excite  for  my  friends 
an  admiration,  by  which  my  own  vanity  might  have  profited.  At 
Paris,  I  should  have  said  all  that  I  thought ;  at  Petersburg,  I 
was  afraid  of  seeming  to  magnify  myself,  under  the  pretence  of 
doing  justice  to  others.  The  Grand  Duchess  persisted,  saying, 
"  We  take  great  pleasure  in  reading  the  works  of  Madame  Gay. 
What  do  you  think  of  them  ?  " 

"  My  opinion  is,  madame,  that  we  may  find  in  them  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  society  of  former  days  written  by  one  who  under- 
stands it." 

"  Why  does  not  Madame  de  Girardin  continue  to  write  ?  " 

"  Madame  de  Girardin  is  a  poetess,  madame,  and  in  a  writer 
of  poetry,  silence  is  the  indication  of  labour." 

"  I  hope  that  this  is  the  cause  of  her  silence ;  for,  with  her 
observing  mind  and  poetical  talent,  it  would  be  a  pity  that  she 
should  confine  herself  to  the  production  of  mere  ephemeral 
works."* 

During  this  conversation,  I  made  it  a  rule  merely  to  listen 
and  to  reply ;  but  I  expected  to  hear  the  Grand  Duchess  pro- 
nounce other  names  which  might  flatter  my  patriotic  pride,  and 
put  my  friendly  reserve  to  new  trials. 

These  expectations  were  deceived.  The  Grand  Duchess,  who 
passes  her  life  in  a  country  where  society  is  remarkable  for  its 
tact,  undoubtedly  knew  better  than  myself  what  to  speak  of,  and 
what  to  omit.  Equally  fearing  the  significance  of  my  words,  and 
of  my  silence,  she  did  not  utter  another  syllable  on  the  subject 
of  our  cotemporary  literature. 

There  are  certain  names,  whose  sound  alone  would  disturb  the 
tranquillity  of  mind  and  the  uniformity  of  thought,  despotically 
imposed  upon  all  who  will  live  at  the  Russian  court. 

I  must  now  describe  some  of  the  magic  fetes  at  which  I  am 
present  every  evening.  With  us  the  balls  are  disfigured  by  the 
sombre  attire  of  the  men,  whereas  the  varied  and  brilliant  uni- 
forms of  the  Russian  officers  give  an  extreme  brilliancy  to  the 
saloons  of  Petersburg. 

In  Russia,  the  magnificence  of  the  women's  apparel  is  found 
to  accord  with  the  gold  of  the  military  dress ;  and  the  male 
dancers  have  not  the  appearance  of  being  the  clerks  of  attorneys, 
or  the  shopmen  of  their  partners'  apothecaries. 

*  The  conversation  is  repeated  word  for  word  as  it  occurred. 


MAGIC    FETES.  115 

The  whole  length  of  the  garden  front  of  the  Michael  Palace 
is  ornamented  by  an  Italian  colonnade.  Yesterday,  they  availed 
themselves  of  a  temperature  of  twenty-six  degrees  to  illuminate 
the  spaces  betwixt  each  pillar  of  this  exterior  gallery  with  clus^ 
ters  of  small  lamps,  arranged  in  a  manner  that  had  a  very  origi- 
nal effect.  The  lamps  were  formed  of  paper  in  the  shape  of 
tulips,  lyres,  vases,  &c.  Their  appearance  was  both  tasteful  and 
novel. 

At  each  fete  given  by  the  Grand  Duchess  Helena,  it  is  said 
that  she  invents  something  altogether  new.  Such  a  reputation 
must  be  troublesome,  for  it  is  difficult  to  maintain.  This  princess, 
so  beautiful  and  intellectual,  and  so  celebrated  throughout  Europe 
for  the  grace  of  her  manners  and  the  charms  of  her  conversation, 
struck  me  as  being  less  natural  and  easy  than  the  other  females 
of  the  Imperial  family.  Celebrity  as  a  woman  of  wit  and  high 
intellectual  attainment,  must  be  a  heavy  burden  in  a  royal  court. 
She  is  an  elegant  and  distinguished  looking  person,  but  has  the 
air  of  suffering  from  weariness  and  lassitude.  Perhaps  she  would 
have  been  happier  had  she  possessed  good  sense,  with  less  wit 
and  mental  acquirements,  and  had  continued  a  German  princess, 
confined  to  the  monotonous  life  of  a  petty  sovereignty. 

Her  obligation  of  doing  the  honours  of  French  literature  at 
the  court  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  makes  me  afraid  of  the  Grand 
Duchess  Helena. 

The  light  that  proceeded  from  the  groups  of  lamps  was  re- 
flected in  a  picturesque  manner  upon  the  pillars  of  the  palace, 
and  among  the  trees  of  the  garden.  The  latter  was  full  of  peo- 
ple. In  the  fetes  at  Petersburg,  the  people  serve  as  an  ornament, 
just  as  a  collection  of  rare  plants  adorns  a  hot-house.  Delight- 
ful sounds  were  heard  in  the  distance,  where  several  orchestras 
were  executing  military  symphonies,  and  responding  to  each  other 
with  a  harmony  that  was  admirable.  The  light  reflected  on  the 
trees  had  a  charming  effect.  Nothing  is  more  fantastically  beau- 
tiful than  the  golden  verdure  of  foliage  illuminated  during  a  fine 
night. 

The  interior  of  the  grand  gallery  in  which  they  danced  was 
arranged  with  a  marvellous  luxury.  Fifteen  hundred  boxes  of 
the  rarest  plants,  in  flower,  formed  a  grove  of  fragrant  verdure. 
At  one  of  the  extremities  of  the  hall,  amid  thickets  of  exotic 
shrubs,  a  fountain  threw  up  a  column  of  fresh  and  sparkling 
water:  its  spray,  illuminated  by  the  innumerable  wax-lights,  shone 
like  a  dust  of  diamonds,  and  refreshed  the  air,  always  kept  in 
agitation  by  the  movement  of  the  dance.  It  might  have  been 


116  A    GROVE    IN    A    BALL-ROOM. 

supposed  that  these  strange  plants,  including  large  palms  and 
bananas,  all  of  whose  boxes  were  concealed  under  a  carpet  of 
mossy  verdure,  grew  in  their  native  earth,  and  that  the  groups  of 
northern  dancers  had  been  transported  by  enchantment  to  the 
forests  of  the  tropics.  It  was  like  a  dream  ;  there  was  not  merely 
luxury  in  the  scene,  there  was  poetry.  The  brilliancy  of  the 
magic  gallery  mas  multiplied  a  hundred-fold  by  a  greater  profu- 
sion of  enormous  and  richly-gilded  pier  and  other  glasses  than 
I  had  ever  elsewhere  seen.  The  windows  ranged  under  the  col- 
onnade were  left  open  on  account  of  the  excessive  heat  of  the 
summer  night.  The  hall  was  lofty,  and  extended  the  length  of 
half  the  palace.  The  effect  of  all  this  magnificence  may  be  better 
imagined  than  described.  It  seemed  like  the  palace  of  the  fairies : 
all  ideas  of  limits  disappeared,  and  nothing  met  the  eye  but 
space,  light,  gold,  flowers,  reflection,  illusion,  and  the  giddy  move- 
ment of  the  crowd,  which  crowd  itself  seemed  multiplied  to  in- 
finity. Every  actor  in  the  scene  was  equal  to  ten,  so  greatly  did 
the  mirrors  aid  the  effect.  I  have  never  seen  any  thing  more 
beautiful  than  this  crystal  palace ;  but  the  ball  was  given  like 
other  balls,  and  did  not  answer  to  the  gorgeous  decorations  of  the 
edifice.  I  was  surprised  that  such  a  nation  of  dancers  did  not 
devise  something  new  to  perform  on  the  boards  of  a  theatre  so 
different  from  all  others,  where  people  meet  to  dance  and  to  fa- 
tigue themselves,  under  the  pretext  of  enjoyment.  I  should  like 
to  have  seen  the  quadrilles  and  the  ballets  of  other  theatres.  It 
strikes  me  that  in  the  middle  ages,  the  gratifications  of  the  im- 
agination had  a  greater  influence  in  the  diversions  of  courts 
than  they  have  at  present.  In  the  Michael  Palace  the  only 
dances  that  I  saw  were  the  polonaises,  the  waltz,  and  the  degen- 
erated country  dances  called  quadrilles  in  the  Franco-Russian. 
Even  the  mazourkas  at  Petersburg  are  less  lively  and  graceful 
than  the  real  dances  of  Warsaw.  Russian  gravity  cannot  accommo- 
date itself  to  the  vivacity,  the  whim,  and  the  abandon  of  the 
true  Polish  dances. 

Under  the  perfumed  groves  of  the  ball-room,  the  Empress  re- 
posed herself  at  the  conclusion  of  every  polonaise.  She  found 
there  a  shelter  from  the  heat  of  the  illuminated  garden,  the  air 
of  which,  during  this  summer  night,  was  as  stifling  as  that  of  the 
interior  of  the  palace. 

I  found  leisure  during  the  fete  to  draw  a  comparison  in  my 
own  mind  between  France  and  Russia,  on  a  subject  regarding 
which  my  observations  were  not  in  favour  of  the  former.  Demo- 
cracy cannot  but  be  uncongenial  to  the  ordering  of  a  grand  as- 


PROSPECT    OF    DEMOCRACY.  117 

bembly.  The  one  which  I  beheld  in  the  Michael  Palace  was  em- 
bellished with  all  the  care  and  all  the  tokens  of  homage  of  which 
a  sovereign  could  be  the  object.  A  queen  is  always  indispensa- 
ble to  the  maintenance  of  elegant  pleasures.  But  the  principles 
of  equality  have  so  many  other  advantages,  that  we  may  well  sa- 
crifice to  them  the  luxuries  of  pleasure.  It  is  this  which  we  do 
in  France  with  a  disinterestedness  that  is  meritorious  ;  my  only 
fear  is  lest  our  great-grandchildren  may  have  different  views 
when  the  time  shall  have  arrived  to  enjoy  the  perfections  pre- 
pared for  them  by  their  too  generous  ancestors.  Who  knows  if 
these  undeceived  generations  will  not  say,  when  speaking  of  our- 
selves, "  Seduced  by  a  sophistical  eloquence,  they  became  vague, 
unmeaning  fanatics,  and  have  entailed  on  us  absolute  misery  V  " 

To  return  from  the  contemplation  of  the  future  which  Ame- 
rica is  promising  to  Europe  : — before  the  banquet  the  Empress, 
seated  under  her  canopy  of  exotic  verdure,  made  me  a  sign  to 
approach  her  ;  and  scarcely  had  I  obeyed,  when  the  Emperor  also 
came  to  the  magic  fountain,  where  a  shower  of  diamonds  was 
giving  us  both  light  and  a  freshened  atmosphere.  He  took  me 
by  the  hand,  and  led  me  some  steps  from  the  chair  of  his  consort, 
where  he  was  pleased  to  converse  with  me  for  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  an  hour  on  subjects  of  interest ;  for  this  prince  does  not, 
like  many  other  princes,  speak  to  you  merely  that  it  may  be  seen 
he  does  so. 

He  first  said  a  few  words  on  the  admirable  arrangements  of 
the  fete ;  and  I  remarked,  in  reply,  that,  in  a  life  so  active  as  his, 
I  was  astonished  that  he  could  find  time  for  every  thing,  including 
even  a  participation  in  the  pleasures  of  the  crowd. 

"  Happily,"  he  replied,  "  the  machine  of  government  is  very 
simple  in  my  country ;  for,  with  distances  which  render  every- 
thing difficult,  if  the  form  of  government  was  complicated,  the 
head  of  one  man  would  not  suffice  for  its  requirements." 

I  was  surprised  and  flattered  by  this  tone  of  frankness.  The 
Emperor,  who  understands  better  than  any  one  that  which  is  felt, 
though  not  expressed,  proceeded, — replying  to  my  thought, — 
'•  If  I  speak  to  you  in  this  manner,  it  is  because  I  know  that  you 
can  understand  me  :  we  are  continuing  the  labors  of  Peter  the 
great." 

"  He  is  not  dead,  Sire ;  his  genius  and  his  will  still  govern 
Russia." 

When  any  one  speaks  in  public  with  the  Emperor,  a  large  cir- 
cle of  courtiers  gathers  at  a  respectful  distance,  from  whence  no 
one  can  overhear  the  sovereign's  conversation,  though  all  eyes 
continue  fixed  upon  him. 


118  INTERESTING    CONVERSATION    WITH    THE    EMPEROR. 

It  is  not  the  prince  who  is  likely  to  embarrass  you  when  he 
does  you  the  honor  of  conversing :  it  is  his  suite. 

The  Emperor  continued  : — "  We  do  not  find  it  very  easy  to 
prosecute  this  work  :  submission  may  cause  you  to  believe  that 
there  is  uniformity  among  us,  but  I  must  undeceive  you  ;  there  is 
no  other  country  where  is  found  such  diversity  of  races,  of  man- 
ners, of  religion,  and  of  mind,  as  in  Russia.  The  diversity  lies 
at' the  bottom,  the  uniformity  appears  on  the  surface,  and  the  uni- 
ty is  only  apparent.  You  see  near  to  us  twenty  officers,  the  two 
first  only  are  Russians  ;  the  three  next  to  them  are  conciliated 
Poles  ;  several  of  the  others  are  Germans  ;  there  are  even  the 
Khans  of  the  Kirguises,  who  bring  me  their  sons  to  educate 
among  my  cadets.  There  is  one  of  them,"  he  said,  pointing  with 
his  finger  to  a  little  Chinese  monkey,  in  a  whimsical  costume  of 
velvet  all  bedizened  with  gold. 

"  Two  hundred  thousand  children  are  brought  up  and  instruct- 
ed at  my  cost  with  that  child." 

"  Sire,  every  thing  is  done  on  a  large  scale  in  this  country  — 
every  thing  is  colossal." 

"  Too  colossal  for  one  man." 

"  What  man  has  ever  stood  in  nearer  relation  to  his  people?" 

"  You  speak  of  Peter  the  Great  ?  " 

"No,  Sire." 

"  I  hope  that  you  will  not  be  content  with  merely  seeing 
Petersburg.  What  is  your  plan  of  route  in  visiting  my  coun- 
try ?  " 

"  Sire,  I  wish  to  leave  immediately  after  the  fete  of  Peter- 
hoff." 

«  To  go " 

u  To  Moscow  and  Nijna." 

"  Good  :  but  you  will  be  there  too  soon  :  you  will  leave 
Moscow  before  my  arrival,  and  I  should  have  been  glad  to  see 
you  there." 

"  This  observation  of  Your  Majesty's  will  cause  me  to  change 
my  plan." 

"  So  much  the  better  ;  we  will  show  you  the  new  works  that  we 
are  making  at  the  Kremlin.  My  object  is  to  render  the  architec- 
ture of  those  old  edifices  better  adapted  to  the  uses  now  made  of 
them.  The  palace  was  inconveniently  small  for  me.  You  will 
be  present  also  at  a  curious  ceremony  on  the  plain  of  Borodino  ; 
I  am  to  place  there  the  first  stone  of  a  monument  which  we  are 
about  to  erect  in  commemoration  of  that  battle." 

I  remained  silent,  and  no  doubt  the  expression  of  my  face 


IMPROVEMENTS    IN    THE    KREMLIN.  119 

became  serious.  The  Emperor  fixed  his  eyes  on  me,  and  then 
continued,  in  a  tone  of  kindness,  and  with  a  delicacy  and  even 
sensibility  of  manner  which  touched  my  heart, — "  The  inspection 
of  the  manoeuvres  will  at  least  interest  you." 

"  Sire,  every  thing  interests  me  in  Russia." 

I  saw  the  old  Marquis ,  who  has  only  one  leg,  dance  the 

polonaise  with  the  Empress.  Lame  as  he  is,  he  can  get  through 
this  dance,  which  is  nothing  more  than  a  solemn  procession.  He 
has  arrived  here  with  his  sons :  they  travel  like  real  great  lords; 
a  yacht  brought  them  from  London  to  Petersburg,  whither  they 
have  had  forwarded  English  horses  and  carriages  in  great  num- 
ber. Their  equipages  are  the  most  elegant,  if  they  are  not  the 
most  sumptuous,  in  Petersburg.  These  travellers  are  treated 
with  marked  attention.  They  are  intimate  with  the  Imperial  fa- 
mily. The  Emperor's  love  of  field-sports,  and  the  recollection 
of  his  journey  to  London  when  Grand  Duke,  have  established 

between  him  and  the  Marquis that  kind  of  familiarity  which, 

it  appears  to  me,  must  be  more  pleasant  to  the  princes  who  con- 
fer, than  to  the  private  individuals  who  have  become  the  objects 
of  such  favor.  Where  friendship  is  impossible,  intimacy  I  should 
think  can  be  only  constraining.  One  would  have  said,  to  have 
sometimes  seen  the  manners  of  the  Marquis's  sons  towards  the 
members  of  the  Imperial  family,  that  they  thought  on  this  sub- 
ject as  I  did.  If  freedom  of  manners  and  speech  should  gain 
a  footing  at  court,  where  will  falsehood  and  politeness  find  a  re- 
fuge ?  * 

*  Some  clays  after  this  was  written,  a  little  scene  occurred  at  court  which 
will  give  some  idea  of  the  manners  of  the  most  fashionable  young  people 
among  the  English  in  the  present  day  :  they  have  no  right  to  reproach,  nor 
yet  any  reason  to  envy,  the  least  polite  of  our  Parisian  exquisites  . — what  a 
difference  between  this  kind  of  blackguard  elegance,  and  the  politeness  of 
the  Buckingham?,  the  Lauzuns,  and  the  Richeheus!  The  Empress  wished 
to  give  a  private  ball  as  a  mark  of  attention  to  the  English  family  before 
their  leaving  Petersburg.  She  began  by  inviting  the  father,  who  dances 

BO  well  with  an  artificial  leg.     "Madame,"  replied  the  old  Marquis , 

"  I  have  been  loaded  with  kindness  at  Petersburg ;  but  so  many  pleasures 
surpass  my  powers:  I  hope  that  Your  Majesty  will  permit  me  to  take  my 
leave  this  evening,  that  I  may  get  on  board  my  yacht  to-morrow  morning, 
in  order  to  return  to  England  ;  otherwise  I  shall  die  of  pleasure  in  Russia." 
"Wei!,  then,  I  must  give  you  up,"  replied  the  Empress,  satisfied  with  this 
polite  and  manly  answer,  worthy  of  ilu-  timc>  iu  which  the  old  lord  must 
have  fii-st  entered  the  world  ;  then  turning  towards  the  Marquis's  sons,  whose 
stay  in  Petersburg  was  to  be  prolonged  :  "  At  least  I  may  depend  on  you  1 " 
she  said  to  the  eldest.  "Madame,"  replied  that  individual,  "we  are  en- 
gaged to  hunt  the  rein-deer  to-day."  The  Empress,  who  is  said  to  be  proud, 


120  ANECDOTE. 

In  connection  with  the  marriage  fetes  given  in  honour  of  the 
Grand  Duchess  Maria,  a  little  incident  occurred  which  will  remind 
the  reader  of  what  often  happened  at  the  court  of  the  Emperor 
Napoleon. 

The  grand  chamberlain  had  died  shortly  before  the  marriage, 
and  his  office  had  been  given  to  Count  Golowkin,  formerly  Rus- 
sian ambassador  to  China,  to  which  country  he  could  not  obtain 
access.  This  nobleman,  entering  upon  the  functions  of  his  office 
on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage,  had  less  experience  than  his  pre- 
decessor. A  young  chamberlain,  appointed  by  him,  managed  to 
incur  the  wrath  of  the  Emperor,  and  exposed  his  superior  to  a 
rather  severe  reprimand  :  it  was  at  the  ball  of  the  Grand  Duchess 
Helena. 

The  Emperor  was  talking  with  the  Austrian  ambassador.  The 
chamberlain  received  from  the  Grand  Duchess  Maria  an  order  to 
carry  her  invitation  to  this  ambassador  to  dance  with  her.  In  his 
zeal,  the  unfortunate  debutant  broke  the  circle  of  courtiers 
which  I  have  before  described  as  forming  at  a  respectful  distance 
around  the  Emperor,  and  boldly  approached  His  Majesty's  person, 
saying  to  the  ambassador,  "  Monsieur  le  Comte,  Madame  la  Du- 
chesse  de  Leuchtenberg  requests  that  you  will  dance  with  her  the 
first  polonaise." 

The  Emperor,  shocked  with  the  ignorance  of  the  new  cham- 
berlain, addressed  him,  in  an  elevated  tone  of  voice,  saying, 
"  You  have  been  appointed  to  a  post,  sir ;  learn,  therefore,  how 
to  fulfil  its  duties ;  in  the  first  place,  my  daughter  is  not  the 
Duchess  of  Leuchtenberg, — she  is  called  the  Grand  Duchess 
Maria* ;  in  the  second  place,  you  ought  to  know  that  no  one  inter- 
rupts me  when  I  am  conversing  with  any  individual."! 

The  new  "chamberlain  who  received  this  harsh  reprimand  was, 
unfortunately,  a  poor  Polish  gentleman.  The  Emperor,  not  con- 
tent with  what  he  had  said,  caused  the  grand  chamberlain  Jo  be 
called,  and  recommended  him  to  be,  in  future,  more  circumspect 
in  his  selection  of  deputies. 

was  not  discouraged,  and,  addressing  herself  to  the  younger  brother,  said, 
"  You,  at  any  rate,  will  remain  with  me  ?  "  The  young  man,  at  a  loss  for 
an  excuse,  and  not  knowing  what  to  answer,  in  his  vexation  turned  to  his 
brother,  murmuring,  loudly  enough  to  be  overheard,  "Am  I  then  to  be  the 
victim  ?  "  This  anecdote  went  the  round  of  the  whole  court. 

*  This  title  had  been  secured  to  her  at  her  marriage. 

f  Did  I  not  truly  say  that,  at  this  court,  life  is  "passed  in  general 
rehearsals?  An  Emperor  of  Russia,  from  Peter  the  Great  downwards, 
never  forgets  that  it  is  his  office  personally  to  instruct  his  people. 


THE    GRAND    CHAMBERLAIN.  121 

I  left  the  ball  of  tho  Michael  Palace  at  an  early  hour.  I 
loitered  on  the  staircase,  and  could  have  wished  to  remain  there 
longer :  it  was  a  wood  of  orange-trees  in  flower.  Never  have  I 
seen  any  thing  more  magnificent  or  better  directed  than  this  fete; 
but  there  is  nothing  so  fatiguing  as  admiratfon  too  greatly  pro- 
longed, especially  if  it  does  not  relate  to  the  phenomena  of  nature, 
or  the  works  of  the  higher  arts. 

I  lay  down  my  pen  in  order  to  dine  with  a  Russian  officer,  the 

young  Count ,  who  took  me  this  morning  to  the  Cabinet  of 

Mineralogy,  the  finest  I  believe  in  Europe,  for  the  Uralian  mines 
are  unequalled  in  the  variety  of  their  mineral  wealth.  Nothing 
can  be  seen  here  alone.  A  native  of  the  country  is  always  with 
you,  to  do  the  honours  of  the  public  establishments  and  institu- 
tions, and  there  are  many  days  in  the  year  favourable  for  seeing 
them.  In  summer,  they  are  repairing  the  edifices  damaged  by 
the  frosts ;  in  winter,  there  is  nothing  but  visiting :  every  one 
dances  who  does  not  freeze.  It  will  be  thought  I  am  exaggerat- 
ing when  I  say  that  Russia  is  scarcely  better  seen  in  Petersburg 
than  in  France.  Strip  the  observation  of  its  paradoxical  form, 
and  it  is  strictly  true.  Most  assuredly,  it  is  not  sufficient  to  visit 
this  country  in  order  to  know  it,  Without  the  aid  of  others,  it 
is  not  possible  to  obtain  an  idea  of  any  thing,  and  often,  this  aid 
tyrannises  over  its  object,  and  imbues  him  with  ideas  only  that 
are  fallacious."  * 


CHAPTER  XL 

The  Ladies  of  the  Court.— Tho  Finns.— The  Opera.— The  Emperor  there.— Imposing  Person 
of  the  Prince.— His  Accession  to  the  Throne.— Courage  of  the  Empress.— The  Emperor's 
Recital  of  this  Scene  to  the  Author. — Another  Description  of  the  Emperor. — Continuation 
ol  his  Conversation.— His  political  Opinions.— Sincerity  of  his  Language. —  F&te  at  the 
Duchess  of  Oldenburg's.— Bal  Cham  potre.— Flowers  in  Russia— The  Friend  of  the 
Empress. — Several  Conversations  with  the  Emperor.— His  noble  Sentiments.— Confidence 
with  which  he  inspires  those  who  approach  him.— Aristocracy  the  only  Rampart  of 
Liberty.— Parallel  between  Autocracies  and  Democracies. 

SEVERAL  of  the  ladies  of  this  court,  but  their  number  is  not  great, 
have  a  reputation  for  beauty  which  is  deserved;  others  have 
usurped  that  reputation  by  means  of  coquetries,  contrivances,  and 
affectations  —  all  copied  from  the  Fnglish ;  for  the  Russians  in 
high  life  pass  their  time  in  searching  for  foreign  models  of  fashion. 

*  This  is  done  designedly. 


122  THE    OPERA. 

They  are  sometimes  deceived  in  their  choice,  when  their  mistake 
produces  a  singular  kind  of  elegance — an  elegance  without  taste. 
A  Russian  left  to  himself  would  spend  his  life  in  dreams  of  un- 
satisfied vanity  :  he  would  view  himself  as  a  barbarian.  Nothing 
more  injures  the  natural  disposition,  and  consequently  the  mental 
powers  of  a  people,  than  this  continual  dwelling  upon  the  social 
superiority  of  other  nations.  To  feel  humbled  by  the  very  sense 
of  one's  own  assumption  is  an  inconsistency  in  the  actings  of  self- 
love  which  is  not  unfrequently  to  be  seen  in  Russia,  where  the 
character  of  the  parvenu  may  be  studied  under  all  its  grades  and 
phases. 

As  a  general  rule  applicable  to  the  different  classes  of  the  na- 
tion, beauty  is  less  common  among  the  women  than  the  men  ; 
though  among  the  latter  also  may  be  found  great  numbers  whose 
faces  are  flat  and  void  of  all  expression.  The  Finns  have  high 
cheek-bones,  small  dull,  sunken  eyes,  and  visages  so  flattened  that 
it  might  be  fancied  they  had  all,  at  their  birth,  fallen  on  their 
noses.  Their  mouth  is  also  deformed,  and  their  whole  appear- 
ance bears  the  impress  of  the  slave.  This  portrait  does  not  apply 
to  the  Slavonians. 

I  have  met  many  people  marked  with  the  smallpox,  a  sight 
rarely  now  seen  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  and  which  betrays  the 
negligence  of  the  Russian  administration  on  an  important  point. 

In  Petersburg,  the  different  races  are  so  mingled,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  real  population  of  Russia. 
Germans,  Swedes,  Livonians,  Finns  (who  are  a  species  of  Lap- 
landers), Calmucs  and  other  Tartar  races,  have  so  mixed  their 
blood  with  that  of  the  Slavonians,  that  the  primitive  beauty  of  the 
latter  has,  in  the  capital,  gradually  degenerated  ;  which  leads  me 
often  to  think  of  the  observation  of  the  Emperor,  "  Petersburg  is 
Russian,  but  it  is  not  Russia." 

I  have  been  witnessing  at  the  Opera  what  is  called  a  gala  re- 
presentation. The  building  was  magnificently  lighted  :  it  is  large, 
and  well  proportioned.  Galleries  and  projecting  boxes  are  un- 
known here  :  there  is  at  Petersburg  no  citizen  class  for  whom  to 
provide  seats.  The  architect,  therefore,  unfettered  in  his  plan, 
can  construct  theatres  of  a  simple  and  regular  design,  like  those 
of  Italy,  where  the  women  who  are  not  of  the  highest  ranks  are 
seated  in  the  pit. 

By  special  favour  I  obtained  a  chair  in  the  first  row  of  the 
pit.  On  gala  days  these  chairs  are  reserved  for  the  greatest 
nobles  and  the  high  court  functionaries,  and  none  are  admitted  to 
them  except  in  the  uniform  or  costume  of  their  rank  or  office. 


IMPOSING    PERSON    OF    THE    EMPEROR.  123 

My  right-hand  neighbour,  seeing  from  my  dress  that  I  was  a 
stranger,  accosted  me  in  French,  with  that  hospitable  politeness, 
which,  in  Petersburg,  is  acharacteristic  of  the  higher,  and,  to  a 
certain  extent,  of  all  classes  ;  for  here  every  one  is  polite — the 
great,  through  the  vanity  of  showing  their  good  breeding,  the 
little,  through  sentiments  of  fear. 

After  a  few  common-place  observations,  I  asked  my  obliging 
neighbour  the  name  of  the  piece  that  was  to  be  performed.  "  It 
is  a  translation  from  the  French,"  he  answered  :  "  The  Devil  on 
Two  Sticks."  I  puzzled  my  head  to  no  purpose  to  make  out  what 
drama  could  have  been  translated  under  this  title ;  at  length  it 
turned  out  that  the  translation  was  a  pantomime  founded  on  our 
ballet  of  the  same  name. 

I  did  not  much  admire  it,  and  directed  my  attention  chiefly  to 
the  audience.  At  length,  the  court  arrived.  The  Imperial  box 
is  an  elegant  saloon,  which  occupies  the  back  part  of  the  theatre, 
and  which  is  even  yet  more  brilliantly  illuminated. 

The  entrance  of  the  Emperor  was  imposing.  As  he  advanced 
to  the  front  of  his  box,  accompanied  by  the  Empress,  and  followed 
by  their  family  and  the  attendant  courtiers,  the  public  rose  simul- 
taneously. His  Majesty  was  dressed  in  a  singularly  splendid  red 
uniform.  That  of  the  Cossacks  looks  well  only  on  very  young 
men  :  the  one  which  the  Emperor  wore  better  suited  his  age,  and 
greatly  set  off  the  nobleness  of  his  features  and  his  stature.  Be- 
fore seating  himself,  he  saluted  the  assembly  with  the  peculiarly 
polite  dignity  by  which  he  is  characterized.  The  Empress  did  the 
same,  and,  which  appeared  to  me  an  assumption  that  was  tanta- 
mount to  a  want  of  respect  towards  the  public,  their  suite  followed 
their  example.  The  whole  theatre  rendered  to  tlie  sovereigns  bow 
for  bow,  and,  furthermore,  overwhelmed  them  with  plaudits  and 
hurras.  These  demonstrations  had  an  official  character  which 
greatly  diminished  their  value.  Wonderful,  that  an  emperor  should 
be  applauded  by  a  pit-ful  of  courtiers  !  In  Russia,  real  flattery 
would  be  the  appearance  of  independence.  The  Russians  have 
not  found  out  this  indirect  mode  of  pleasing  ;  arid,  in  truth,  its  use 
might  sometimes  become  perilous,  notwithstanding  the  feeling  of 
eiuuii  which  the  servility  of  his  subjects  must  often  produce  in 
the  prince. 

The  compulsory  manifestations  of  submission  with  which  he 
is  every  where  received,  is  the  reason  why  the  present  Emperor 
has  only  twice  in  his  life  had  the  satisfaction  of  testing  his  personal 
power  upon  the  assemble  J  multitude — and  this  was  during  an 
insurrection  !  The  only  free  man  in  Russia  is  the  revolted 
soldier. 


124  COURAGE    OF    THE 

Viewed  from  the  point  where  I  sat,  the  Emperor  appeared 
truly  worthy  of  commanding  men,  so  noble  was  his  face,  and  so 
majestic  his  figure.  My  mind  involuntarily  recurred  to  the  period 
when  he  mounted  the  throne,  and  the  contemplation  of  that  bright 
page  of  history  led  my  thoughts  away  from  the  scene  that  was 
enacting  before  me. 

What  I  am  now  about  to  narrate  was  detailed  to  me  by  the 
Emperor  himself,  only  a  few  days  ago.  The  reason  that  it  was 
not  stated  in  the  last  chapter  is  because  the  papers  *  containing 
such  details  could  not  be  confided  either  to  the  Russian  post  or 
to  any  traveller. 

The  day  on  which  Nicholas  ascended  the  throne  was  that  in 
which  rebellion  broke  out  among  the  Guards.  At  the  first  intima- 
tion of  the  revolt  of  the  troops,  the  Emperor  and  Empress  proceed- 
ed alone  to  their  chapel,  and,  falling  on  their  knees,  on  the  steps 
of  the  altar,  bound  each  other  by  mutual  oath  before  God,  to  die 
as  sovereigns,  if  they  should  be  unable  to  triumph  over  the  insur- 
rection. 

The  Emperor  might  well  view  the  evil  as  serious,  for  he  had 
been  informed  that  the  archbishop  had  already  vainly  endeavoured 
to  appease  the  soldiers.  In  Russia,  when  religious  power  loses  its 
influence,  disorder  is  indeed  formidable. 

After  solemnly  making  the  sign  of  the  cross,  the  Emperor 
proceeded  to  confront  the  rebels,  and  to  over-master  them  by  his 
presence,  and  by  the  calm  energy  of  his  countenance.  He  stated 
this  to  me  in  terras  more  modest  than  those  which  I  now  use,  and 
of  which,  unfortunately,  I  have  not  preserved  the  recollection,  for 
at  first  I  was  rather  taken  by  surprise,  owing  to  the  unexpected 
turn  of  the  conversation.  Of  what  passed  after  recovering  from 
this  surprise  my  memory  is  more  tenacious. 

''  Sire,  Your  Majesty  drew  your  strength  from  the  right 
source." 

"  I  did  not  know  what  I  was  about  to  do  or  say — I  was  in- 
spired." 

"  To  receive  such  inspirations,  it  is  necessary  to  merit 
them." 

"  I  did  nothing  extraordinary ;  I  said  to  the  soldiers,  '  Return 
to  your  ranks  ! '  and,  at  the  moment  of  passing  the  regiment  in 
review,  I  cried,  '  On  your  knees  ! '  They  all  obeyed.  What  gave 
me  power  was,  that  the  instant  before  I  had  made  up  my  mind 
to  perish  or  conquer.  I  am  grateful  for  having  succeeded  ;  but 
I  am  not  proud  of  it,  for  it  was  by  no  merit  of  my  own." 

*  Despatched  in  the  form  of  a  letter  to  Paris. — Trans. 


EMPEROR    AND    EMPRESS.  125 

Such  were  the  noble  expressions  which  the  Emperor  made  use 
of  in  relating  to  me  this  contemporary  tragedy. 

From  the  above  relation,  an  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  inte- 
resting nature  of  the  subjects  on  which  he  converses  with  the 
travellers  whom  he  honours  with  his  good-will.  It  will  also  ex- 
plain the  character  of  the  influence  he  exercises  over  ourselves, 
as  well  as  over  his  own  people  and  his  family.  He  is  the  Louis 
XIV.  of  the  Slavonians. 

Eyewitnesses  have  informed  me  that  his  form  seemed  to  di- 
late and  grow  more  lofty  and  commanding  at  each  step  that  he 
made  in  advancing  towards  the  mutineers.  Taciturn,  melancholy, 
and  absorbed  in  trifles  as  he  had  appeared  during  his  youth,  he 
became  a  hero  the  moment  he  was  a  monarch.  The  contrary  is 
usually  the  case ;  and  princes  promise  more  than  they  perform. 

This  prince  is,  on  the  throne,  as  perfectly  in  his  proper  sphere 
as  a.  great  actor  would  be  on  the  boards.  His  attitude  before  the 
rebel  guards  was  so  imposing,  that,  while  he  harangued  the  troops, 
one  of  the  conspirators,  it  is  said,  advanced  four  times  towards  him 
with  the  intention  of  killing  him,  and  four  times  his  courage  failed, 
like  the  Cimbrian's  before  Marius. 

An  absurd  falsehood  was  the  instrument  that  the  conspirators 
had  employed  to  incite  the  army  to  this  outbreak.  They  had 
spread  a  report  that  Nicholas  had  usurped  the  crown  of  his  brother 
Constantine,  who  was,  they  said,  on  his  way  to  Petersburg,  to 
defend  his  rights  by  force  of  arms.  The  means  through  which 
they  had  induced  the  rebels  to  cry  under  the  palace  windows  in 
favour  of  the  constitution,  was  by  persuading  them  that  this  word 
Constitution  was  the  name  of  the  wife  of  Constantine.  It  was, 
therefore,  an  idea  of  duty  which  actuated  the  soldiers,  who  believed 
the  Emperor  an  usurper,  and  who  could  only  be  led  into  rebellion^ 
by  a  fraud.  The  fact  is,  that  Constantine  had  refused  the  crown 
through  weakness  :  he  dreaded  being  poisoned.  God  knows,  and 
there  are  perhaps  some  men  who  know  also,  if  his  abdication  saved 
him  from  the  peril  which  he  thus  expected  to  avoid. 

It  was,  then,  in  support  of  legitimacy,  that  the  deceived  soldiers 
revolted  against  their  legitimate  sovereign.  People  remarked 
that,  during  the  whole  time  the  Emperor  remained  among  the 
troops,  he  did  not  once  put  his  horse  in  rapid  motion ;  but,  though 
so  calm,  he  was  very  pale.  He  was  putting  his  power  to  the  test, 
and  the  success  of  the  proof  assured  him  of  the  future  obedience  of 
his  people. 

Such  a  man  cannot  be  judged  by  the  standard  applied  to  ordi- 
nary characters.  His  grave  and  authoritative  voice,  his  magnetic 


126  CONVERSATION    WITH    THE    EMPEROR. 

and  piercing  look, — which  is  often  cold  and  fixed  rather  through 
the  habit  of  suppressing  his  passions  than  of  dissimulating  his 
thoughts,  for  he  is  frank, — his  superb  forehead,  his  features,  which 
are  those  of  an  Apollo  or  a  Jupiter,  his  immovable,  imposing,  and 
imperious  expression,  his  figure,  more  noble  than  easy,  more 
monumental  than  human,  exercise  upon  all  who  approach  his  person 
a  power  which  is  irresistible.  He  becomes  master  of  the  wills  of 
others,  because  it  is  seen  that  he  is  master  of  his  own. 

The  following  is  what  I  have  retained  of  the  remainder  of  our 
conversation : — 

"  The  insurrection  thus  appeased,  Your  Majesty  must  have 
entered  the  palace  with  feelings  very  different  to  those  under 
which  it  was  left  5  not  only  the  throne,  but  the  admiration  of  the 
world,  and  the  sympathy  of  all  lofty  minds  being,  by  this  event, 
assured  to  Your  Majesty." 

"  I  did  not  thus  view  it :  what  I  then  did  has  been  too  much 
praised." 

The  Emperor  did  not  tell  me  that  on  his  return,  he  found  his 
wife  afflicted  with  a  nervous  trembling  of  the  head,  of  which  she 
has  never  been  entirely  cured.  The  convulsive  motion  is  scarcely 
visible ;  indeed,  on  some  days,  when  calm  and  in  good  health,  the 
Empress  is  entirely  free  from  it :  but  whenever  she  is  suffering, 
either  mentally  or  physically,  the  evil  returns  and  augments. 
This  noble  woman  must  have  fearfully  struggled  with  the  inquie- 
tude occasioned  by  her  husband's  daring  exposure  of  his  person  to 
the  assassin's  blow.^On  his  return,  she  embraced  him  without 
speaking  ;  but  the  Emperor,  after  having  soothed  her,  felt  himself 
grow  weak,  and  threw  himself  into  the  arms  of  one  of  his  most 
faithful  servants,  exclaiming, — "  What  a  commencement  of  a 
*eign !  " 

I  publish  these  details,  because  it  is  well  they  should  be  known, 
in  order  to  teach  the  obscure  to  envy  less  the  fortune  of  the  great. 

Whatever  apparent  inequality  legislation  may  have  established 
in  the  different  conditions  of  civilized  men,  the  equity  of  Provi- 
dence justifies  itself  by  maintaining  a  secret  equality,  which  nothing 
can  alter  or  disturb.  This  is  done  by  the  agency  of  mental  evils 
which  generally  increase  in  the  same  ratio  that  physical  evils 
diminish.  There  is  less  injustice  in  the  world  than  the  founders 
and  legislators  of  nations  have  endeavoured  to  produce,  or  than  the 
vulgar  imagine  they  perceive  :  the  laws  of  nature  are  more  equi- 
table than  the  laws  of  man. 

These  reflections  passed  rapidly  through  my  mind  as  I  con- 
versed with  the  Emperor,  producing  in  me  a  sentiment  which  he 


HIS    POLITICAL    OPINIONS.  127 

would,  I  believe,  have  been  rather  surprised  to  learn  that  he  had 
inspired, — it  was  that  of  indescribable  pity.  I  took  care  to  conceal 
the  emotion,  and  continued  : — 

"  I  can  truly  say,  Sire,  that  one  of  the  chief  motives  of  my 
curiosity  in  visiting  Russia  was  the  desire  of  approaching  a  prince 
who  exercises  such  power  over  men." 

"  The  Russians  are  amiable ;  but  he  must  render  himself 
worthy  who  would  govern  such  a  people." 

"Your  Majesty  has  better  appreciated  the  wants  and  the 
position  of  this  country  than  any  of  your  predecessors." 

"  Despotism  still  exists  in  Russia  :  it  is  the  essence  of  my 
government,  but  it  accords  with  the  genius  of  the  nation." 

"  Sire,  by  stopping  Russia  on  the  road  of  imitation,  you  are 
restoring  her  to  herself." 

"  I  love  my  country,  and  I  believe  I  understand  it.  I  assure 
you,  that  when  I  feel  heartily  weary  of  all  the  miseries  of  the  times, 
I  endeavour  to  forget  the  rest  of  Europe  by  retiring  towards  the 
interior  of  Russia." 

"  In  order  to  refresh  yourself  at  your  fountain-head  ?  " 

"  Precisely  so.  No  one  is  more  from  his  heart  a  Russian  than 
I  am.  I  am  going  to  say  to  you  what  I  would  not  say  to  another, 
but  I  feel  that  you  will  comprehend  me." 

Here  the  Emperor  interrupted  himself,  and  looked  at  me  atten- 
tively. I  continued  to  listen  without  replying,  and  he  proceeded  : — 

"  I  can  understand  republicanism :  it  is  a  plain  and  straight- 
forward form  of  government,  or,  at  least,  it  might  be  so ;  I 
can  understand  absolute  monarchy,  for  I  am  myself  the  head  of 
such  an  order  of  things ;  but  I  cannot  understand  a  representative 
monarchy  ;  it  is  the  government  of  lies,  fraud  and  corruption : 
and  I  would  rather  fall  back  even  upon  China  than  ever  adopt  it." 

"  Sire,  I  have  always  regarded  representative  government  as  a 
compact  inevitable  in  certain  communities  at  certain  epochs ;  but 
like  all  other  compacts,  it  does  not  solve  questions, — it  only  ad- 
journs difficulties." 

The  Emperor  seemed  to  say,  Go  on.     I  continued  : — 

"  It  is  a  truce  signed  between  democracy  and  monarchy,  under 
the  auspices  of  two  very  mean  tyrants,  fear  and  interest ;  and  it 
is  prolonged  by  that  pride  of  intellect  which  takes  pleasure  in 
talking,  and  that  popular  vanity  which  satisfies  itself  on  words. 
In  short,  it  is  the  aristocracy  of  oratory,  substituted  for  the 
aristocracy  of  birth;  it  is  the  government  of  the  lawyers." 

"  Sir,  you  speak  the  truth,"  said  the  Emperor,  pressing   my 


128  FETE    AT    THE    DUCHESS    OF    OLDENBURG'S. 

hand  ;  "  I  have  been  a  representative  sovereign*,  and  the  world 
knows  what  it  has  cost  me  to  have  been  unwilling  to  submit  to 
the  exigences  of  this  infamous  government  (I  quote  literally). 
To  buy  votes,  to  corrupt  consciences,  to  seduce  some  in  order  to 
deceive  others ;  all  these  means  I  disdained,  as  degrading  those 
who  obey  as  much  as  those  who  command,  and  I  have  dearly  paid 
the  penalty  of  my  straightforwardness ;  but.  God  be  praised,  I 
have  done  for  ever  with  this  detestable  political  machine.  I  shall 
never  more  be  a  constitutional  king.  I  have  too  much  need  of 
saying  all  that  I  think  ever  to  consent  to  reign  over  any  people 
by  means  of  stratagem  and  intrigue." 

The  name  of  Poland,  which  presented  itself  incessantly  to  our 
thoughts,  was  not  once  uttered  in  this  singular  conversation. 

The  effect  it  produced  on  me  was  great.  I  felt  myself  subdued. 
The  nobleness  of  sentiment  which  the  Emperor  displayed,  and  the 
frankness  of  his  language,  seemed  to  me  greatly  to  temper  his 
omnipotence. 

I  confess  I  was  dazzled !  A  man  who  could,  notwithstanding 
my  ideas  of  independence,  make  himself  forgiven  for  being  absolute 
monarch  of  sixty  millions  of  fellow-beings,  was,  in  my  eyes,  some- 
thing beyond  our  common  nature ;  but  I  distrusted  my  own 
admiration.  I  felt  like  the  citizens  among  us,  who,  when  surprised 
by  the  grace  and  address  of  the  men  of  other  days,  are  tempted 
by  their  good  taste  to  yield  to  the  captivating  lure,  but  their 
principles  resisting,  they  remain  uncomfortably  stiff,  and  endeavour 
to  appear  as  insensible  as  possible.  It  is  not  in  my  nature  to 
doubt  a  man's  words  at  the  moment  they  are  addressed  to  me.  A 
human  being  who  speaks  is,  to  me,  the  organ  of  Deity :  it  is  only 
by  dint  of  reflection  and  experience  that  I  recognise  the  possibility 
of  design  and  disguise.  This  may  be  called  a  foolish  simplicity, 
which  perhaps  it  is ;  but  I  solace  myself  for  such  mental  weakness 
by  the  recollection  that  its  source  is  a  mental  virtue  :  my  own 
good  faith  makes  me  believe  in  the  sincerity  of  others,  even  in 
that  of  an  Emperor  of  Russia. 

The  beauty  of  his  face  is  also  another  instrument  of  persuasion  ; 
for  this  beauty  is  moral  as  well  as  physical.  I  attribute  its  effect 
to  the  truth  of  his  sentiments,  yet  more  than  to  the  regularity  of 
his  features.  It  was  at  a  ball  at  the  Duchess  of  Oldenburg's  that 
I  had  this  interesting  conversation  with  the  Emperor.  The  fete 
was  singular  and  deserves  describing. 

The  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  who  was  a  princess  of  Nassau,  is 

*  In  Poland. 


THE    FRIEND    OF    THE    EMPRESS.  129 

nearly  allied,  through  her  husband,  to  the  Emperor.  She  wished 
to  give  a  soiree  on  the  occasion  of  the  marriage  of  the  Grand 
Duchess,  but  being  unable  to  excel  the  magnificence  of  the  former 
fetes,  or  to  vie  with  the  splendours  of  the  court,  she  conceived 
the  idea  of  a  bal  champ  etre  at  her  house  in  the  Islands. 

The  Archduke  of  Austria,  who  arrived  two  days  ago,  to  be 
present  at  the  festivities  of  Petersburg ;  the  ambassadors  of  the 
whole  world  (singular  actors  in  a  pastoral) ;  all  Russia,  and  final- 
ly, all  the  high-born  foreigners,  gathered  together  to  promenade 
with  an  air  of  innocent  simplicity,  in  a  garden  where  orchestras 
were  concealed  among  the  distant  groves. 

The  Emperor  prescribes  the  character  of  each  fete:  the 
direction  for  this  day  was,  "  the  elegant  simplicity  of  Horace." 

The  humour  of  all  minds,  including  even  the  corps  diploma- 
tique, was  throughout  the  evening  modelled  in  conformity  with 
this  order.  It  was  like  reading  an  eclogue,  not  of  Theocritus  or 
Virgil,  but  of  Fontenelle. 

We  danced  in  the  open  air  until  eleven  in  the  evening,  and 
then,  the  heavy  dews  having  sufficiently  inundated  the  heads  and 
shoulders  of  the  women,  young  and  old,  who  assisted  at  this  tri- 
umph over  the  climate,  we  re-entered  the  little  palace  which  forms 
the  usual  summer-residence  of  the  Duchess  of  Oldenburg. 

In  the  centre  of  the  villa*  was  a  rotunda,  quite  dazzling  with 
gold  and  wax  lights,  in  which  the  dancers  continued  their  amuse- 
ment, while  the  others  wandered  over  the  rest  of  the  house,  to 
which  this  bright  rotunda  formed,  as  it  were,  a  central  sun. 

There  presided  throughout  the  fete,  which  was  smaller  than 
the  preceding  ones,  a  species  of  splendid  disorder  that  struck  me 
more  than  the  pomp  of  all  the  others.  Without  speaking  of  the 
comical  constraint  depicted  on  the  countenances  of  certain  parties 
who  were  obliged,  for  a  time,  to  afiect  rural  simplicity,  it  was  a 
soiree  altogether  original,  a  species  of  Imperial  Tivoli,  where 
people  felt  themselves  almost  free,  although  in  presence  of  an 
absolute  master.  The  sovereign  who  enjoys  himself  seems  no 
longer  a  despot,  and  this  evening  the  Emperor  enjoyed  himself. 

The  excessive  heats  of  the  present  summer  had  fortunately 
favoured  the  design  of  the  Duchess.  Her  summer-house  is  situated 
in  the  most  beautiful  part  of  the  Islands,  and  it  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  garden  radiant  with  flowers  (in  pots),  and  upon  an  English 
grass  plot, — another  marvel  here, — that  she  had  fixed  her  dancing 
saloon.  This  was  a  superb  inlaid  flooring,  surrounded  by  elegant 

*  In  Russian,   "the  datcha." 
G* 


130  THE    FRIEND    OF    THE    EMPRESS. 

balustrades,  richly  embellished  with  flowers,  and  to  which  the  sky 
served  as  ceiling.  In  Petersburg,  the  luxury  of  rare  flowers, 
reared  in  the  hot-house,  supplies  the  place  of  trees.  Its  inha- 
bitants— men  who  have  left  Asia  to  imprison  themselves  among 
the  snows  of  the  North — recollect  the  Oriental  luxury  of  their 
earlier  country,  and  do  their  best  to  supply  the  sterility  of  nature, 
which,  left  to  herself,  produces  only  pine  and  birch  trees.  Art 
raises  her  an  infinite  variety  of  shrubs  and  plants ;  for  as  every 
thing  is  artificial,  it  is  just  as  easy  to  grow  the  exotic  flowers  of 
America  as  the  violets  and  lilacs  of  France. 

The  Empress,  delicate  as  she  is,  danced,  with  her  neck  bare 
and  her  head  uncovered,  every  polonaise  at  this  magnificent  ball  in 
the  garden  of  her  cousin.  In  Russia,  every  body  pursues  his 
career  to  the  limits  of  his  powers.  The  duty  of  an  Empress  is 
to  amuse  herself  to  death. 

This  German  princess,  the  victim  of  a  frivolity  which  must 
surely  press  as  heavily  as  chains  upon  captives,  enjoys  in  Russia 
a  happiness  rarely  enjoyed  in  any  land,  or  in  any  rank,  and  unex- 
ampled in  the  life  of  an  Empress, — she  has  a  friend.  Of  this 

lady,  the  Baroness  de ,  I  have  already  spoken.      She  and  the 

Empress,  since  the  marriage  of  the  latter,  have  scarcely  ever  been 
separated.  The  baroness,  whose  character  is  sincere,  and  whose 
heart  is  devoted,  has  not  profited  by  her  position.  The  man  whom 
she  has  married  is  one  of  the  military  officers  to  whom  the  Em- 
peror is  most  indebted ;  for  the  Baron  de saved  his  life  on 

the  day  of  the  revolt  that  attended  the  accession  to  the  throne, 
by  exposing  his  own  with  a  devotedness  unprompted  by  interest. 
Nothing  could  be  sufficient  reward  for  such  an  act  of  courage ;  it 
has,  consequently,  gone  unrewarded. 

As  the  garden  became  dark,  a  distant  music  answered  to  the 
orchestra  of  the  ball,  and  harmoniously  chased  away  the  gloom  of 
the  night,  a  gloom  too  natural  to  these  monotonous  shades.  The 
desert  recommences  on  the  Islands,  where  the  pines  and  morasses 
of  Finland  adjoin  the  prettiest  parks.  An  arm  of  the  Neva  flows 
slowly — for  here  all  water  appears  stagnant — before  the  windows 
of  the  little  princely  house  of  the  Duchess  of  Oldenburg.  On  this 
evening,  the  water  was  covered  with  boats  full  of  spectators,  and 
the  road  also  swarmed  with  pedestrians.  A  mixed  crowd  of  citi- 
zens, who  are  as  much  slaves  as  the  peasants,  and  of  work-people, 
all  courtiers  of  courtiers,  pressed  among  the  carriages  of  the 
grandees  to  gaze  on  the  livery  of  the  master  of  their  masters. 
The  whole  spectacle  was  striking  and  original.  In  Russia  the 
names  are  the  same  as  elsewhere,  but  the  things  are  altogether 


THE  AUTHOR  IN  FAVOUR.  131 

different.  I  often  escaped  from  the  throng  of  the  ball  to  walk 
beneath  the  trees  of  the  park,  and  muse  on  the  melancholy  that 
insinuates  itself  into  the  festivals  of  such  a  land.  But  my  medi- 
tations were  short,  for  on  this  day  the  Emperor  seemed  as  though 
determined  to  keep  possession  of  my  thoughts.  Was  it  because 
he  had  discovered  in  the  bottom  of  my  heart  some  prejudices 
little  favourable  towards  him,  though  the  result  only  of  what  I 
had  heard  before  being  presented ;  or  did  he  find  it  amusing  to 
converse  for  a  few  moments  with  one  who  differed  from  those 

who  daily  came  in  his  way ;  or  was  it  that  Madame  de had 

created  an  influence  in  his  mind  in  my  favour  ?  I  could  not 
explain  to  my  own  satisfaction  the  cause  of  receiving  so  much 
honour. 

The  Emperor  is  not  only  accustomed  to  command  actions,  he 
knows  how  to  reign  over  hearts  :  perhaps  he  wished  to  conquer 
mine ;  perhaps  the  ices  of  my  shyness  served  to  stimulate  his 
self-love.  The  desire  of  pleasing  is  natural  to  him :  to  compel 
admiration  would  still  be  to  make  himself  obeyed.  Perhaps  he 
had  a  desire  of  trying  his  power  on  a  stranger ;  perhaps,  in  short 
it  was  the  instinct  of  a  man  who  had  long  lived  deprived  of  the 
truth,  and  who  believed  he  had  for  once  met  with  a  sincere  char- 
acter. I  repeat,  I  was  ignorant  of  his  motives ;  but  on  that  even- 
ing I  could  not  stand  before  him,  nor  even  place  myself  in  a 
retired  corner  of  the  room  where  he  might  be,  without  his  oblig- 
ing me  to  approach  and  converse  with  him. 

On  seeing  me  enter  the  ball-room,  he  said,  "  What  have  you 
seen  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Sire,  I  have  been  visiting  the  Cabinet  of  Natural  History, 
and  the  famous  Mammoth  of  Siberia." 

"  It  is  an  object  unequalled,  in  its  kind,  in  the  world." 

"  Yes,  Sire ;  there  are  many  things  in  Russia  that  are  not  to 
be  seen  elsewhere." 

"  You  flatter  me." 

"  I  respect  Your  Majesty  too  much  to  dare  to  flatter ;  but 
perhaps,  Sire,  I  do  not  fear  you  sufficiently ;  and  I  therefore 
ingenuously  speak  my  thoughts,  when  even  truth  appears  like 
compliment." 

"  This  is  a  delicate  compliment,  monsieur :  you  strangers  spoil 
us." 

"  Sire,  Your  Majesty  was  pleased  to  desire  that  I  should  be 
at  my  ease  with  you,  and  you  have  succeeded,  as  in  everything 
else  that  you  undertake.  Your  Majesty  has  cured  me,  for  a  time 
at  least,  of  my  natural  timidity." 


132  ANOTHER    CONVERSATION 

Obliged  to  avoid  all  allusion  to  the  great  political  interests  of 
the  day,  I  wished  to  lead  the  conversation  towards  a  subject 
which  interested  me  quite  as  much ;  I  added,  therefore,  "  Each 
time  that  I  am  permitted  to  approach  Your  Majesty,  I  recognise 
the  power  which  caused  your  enemies  to  fall  at  your  feet  on  the 
day  that  Your  Majesty  ascended  the  throne." 

"  In  your  country,  there  are  prejudices  entertained  against  us, 
which  are  more  difficult  to  triumph  over  than  the  passions  of  a 
revolted  army." 

"  Sire,  you  are  seen  from  too  great  a  distance  :  if  Your  Ma- 
jesty were  better  known,  you  would  be  better  appreciated,  and 
would  find  among  us,  as  well  as  here,  abundance  of  admirers. 
The  commencement  of  Your  Majesty's  reign  has  already  called 
forth  just  praises;  it  was  also  equally,  or  even  yet  more  highly 
lauded  at  the  time  of  the  cholera;  for  in  this  second  insurrection, 
Your  Majesty  displayed  the  same  authority,  but  tempered  with 
the  most  generous  devotion  to  the  cause  of  humanity.  Energy 
has  never  failed  you,  Sire,  in  times  of  danger." 

"  The  moments  of  which  you  recall  the  recollection  have  been, 
doubtless,  the  best  in  my  life ;  nevertheless,  they  have  appeared 
to  me  as  the  most  frightful." 

"  I  can  well  understand  that,  Sire ;  to  subdue  nature  in  our- 
selves and  in  others  requires  an  effort " 

"An  effort  which  is  terrible,"  interrupted  the  Emperor,  with 
an  energy  which  startled  me, — "  and  one  that  is  felt  long  after." 

"  Yes ;  but  there  is  the  consolation  of  having  acted  heroically." 

"I  have  not  acted  heroically.  I  only  performed  my  part : 
in  such  circumstances  none  can  tell  what  he  will  do  or  say.  We 
run  into  the  danger,  without  previously  inquiring  how  we  are  to 
get  out  of  it." 

"  It  was  God  who  inspired  you,  Sire ;  and  if  two  so  dissimilar 
things  as  poetry  and  government  may  be  compared,  I  should  say 
that  you  acted  in  the  same  way  that  poets  sing, — in  listening  to 
the  voice  from  above." 

"  There  was  no  poetry  in  that  action." 

I  could  perceive  that  my  comparison  had  not  appeared  flat- 
tering, because  it  had  not  been  understood  in  the  sense  of  the 
Latin  poet.  At  court,  they  are  in  the  habit  of  viewing  poetry 
as  merely  an  exhibition  of  wit ;  and  it  would  have  been  necessary 
to  have  launched  into  a  discussion  to  prove  that  it  is  the  purest 
and  most  brilliant  light  that  irradiates  the  soul.  I  therefore 
preferred  remaining  silent;  but  the  Emperor,  being  unwilling, 
doubtless,  to  leave  me  under  the  regret  of  having  displeased 


WITH    THE    EMPEROR.  133 

him,  detained  me  yet  further,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the 
court,  and  resumed  the  conversation  with  a  kindness  that  was 
very  gratifying.  "  What  is  your  decided  plan  of  route  ?  "  he 
asked. 

"  Sire,  after  the  fete  at  Peterhoff,  I  propose  leaving  for  Mos- 
cow, from  whence  I  wish  to  proceed  to  Nijni,  to  see  the  Fair, 
and  to  return  to  Moscow  before  the  arrival  of  Your  Majesty." 

"So  much  the  better ;  I  shall  be  glad  for  you  to  examine,  in 
detail,  my  works  at  the  Kremlin.  My  residence  there  was  too 
small,  I  am  therefore  building  another  more  suitable ;  and  I  will 
explain  to  you  myself  all  my  plans  for  the  embellishment  of  this 
part  of  Moscow,  which  we  view  as  the  cradle  of  the  Empire. 
But  you  have  no  time  to  lose,  for  you  have  immense  distances  to 
travel  over — the  distances  !  these  are  the  curse  of  Russia." 

"  Do  not,  Sire,  regret  them  :  they  form  the  canvas  of  pictures 
that  are  to  be  filled  up  ;  elsewhere  the  earth  is  too  confined  for 
the  inhabitants ;  but  it  will  never  fail  Your  Majesty." 

"  The  time  fails  me." 

"  You  have  the  future." 

"  They  little  know  me  who  reproach  my  ambition ;  far  from 
seeking  to  extend  our  territory,  I  am  desirous  of  drawing  closer 
around  me  the  entire  population  of  Russia.  It  is  simply  over 
misery  and  barbarism  that  I  wish  to  achieve  conquests  :  to  amelio- 
rate the  condition  of  the  Russians  would  be  more  gratifying  than 
to  aggrandize  myself.  If  you  knew  what  an  amiable  people  the 
Russians  are  !  how  gentle,  and  how  naturally  polite  !  You  will 
see  them  at  Peterhoff;  but  it  is  here,  on  the  first  of  January,  that 
I  would  have  especially  desired  to  show  them  to  you."  Then,  re- 
turning to  his  favourite  theme,  he  continued  :  "  But  it  is  not  easy 
to  render  one's  self  worthy  of  governing  such  a  people." 

"  Your  Majesty  has  already  done  much  for  Russia." 

"  I  fear  sometimes  that  I  have  not  done  all  that  might  have 
been  effected." 

The  Emperor  is  the  only  man  in  the  empire  with  whom  one 
may  talk  without  fear  of  informers  ;  he  is  also  the  only  one  in 
whom  I  have  as  yet  recognised  natural  sentiments  and  sincere 
language.  If  I  lived  in  this  country,  and  had  a  secret  to  conceal, 
I  should  begin  by  confiding  it  to  him. 

If  he  has,  as  I  think,  more  pride  than  vanity,  more  dignity 
than  arrogance,  the  general  impression  of  the  various  portraits  I 
have  successively  traced  of  him,  and  especially  the  effect  his 
conversation  produced  on  me,  ought  to  be  satisfactory  to  him  :  in 
fact,  I  did  my  best  to  resist  the  influence  of  his  attraction*.  I 


134  ARISTOCRACY    THE    ONLY 

am  certainly  any  thing  but  revolutionary,  still  I  am  revolution- 
ised :  such  is  the  consequence  of  being  born  in  France,  and  of 
living  there.  But  I  have  a  yet  better  reason  to  give  in  explana- 
tion of  my  endeavour  to  resist  the  influence  of  the  Emperor  over 
me.  Aristocrat,  both  from  character  and  conviction,  I  feel  that 
the  aristocracy  alone  can  withstand  either  the  seductions  or  the 
abuses  of  absolute  power.  Without  an  aristocracy  there  would 
be  nothing  but  tyranny  both  in  monarchies  and  in  democracies. 
The  sight  of  despotism  is  revolting  to  me  in  spite  of  myself;  it 
offends  all  the  ideas  of  liberty  which  spring  alike  from  my  natural 
feelings  and  my  political  creed.  No  aristocrat  can  submit,  with- 
out repugnance,  to  see  the  levelling  hand  of  despotism  laid  upon 
the  people.  This,  however,  happens  in  pure  democracies  as  much 
as  in  absolute  monarchical  governments. 

It  appears  to  me,  that  if  I  were  a  sovereign  I  should  like  the 
society  of  those  who  would  recognise  in  me  the  fellow-being  as 
well  as  the  prince,  especially  if,  when  viewed  apart  from  my  titles, 
and  reduced  to  myself,  I  should  still  have  a  right  to  be  called  a 
sincere,  firm,  and  upright  man. 

Let  the  reader  seriously  ask  himself,  if  that  which  I  have 
recounted  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  since  my  arrival  in  Russia, 
places  this  prince  lower  in  his  opinion  than  before  he  had  read 
these  chapters. 

Our  frequent  communications  in  public  gained  me  numerous 
acquaintances,  as  well  as  renewal  of  acquaintances.  Many  per- 
sons whom  I  had  met  elsewhere  cast  themselves  in  my  way, 
though  only  after  they  had  observed  that  I  was  the  object  of  this 
particular  good-will  on  the  part  of  the  sovereign.  These  men 
were  the  most  exalted  persons  at  court;  but  it  is  the  custom  of 
people  of  the  world,  and  especially  of  placemen,  to  be  sparing  of 
every  thing  except  ambitious  schemes.  To  preserve  at  court 
sentiments  above  the  vulgar  range,  requires  the  endowment  of  a 
very  lofty  mind,  and  lofty  minds  are  rare. 

It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  that  there  are  no  great 
noblemen  in  Russia,  because  there  are  no  independent  charac- 
ters, with  the  exception,  at  least,  of  those  superior  minds,  which 
are  too  few  in  number  to  exercise  any  general  influence  on 
society.  It  is  the  pride  inspired  by  high  birth,  far  more  than 
riches  or  rank  acquired  by  industry,  which  renders  man  inde- 
pendent. 

This  country,  in  many  respects  so  different  from  France,  still 
resembles  it  in  one — it  is  without  any  regulated  social  system. 


RAMPART    OF    LIBERTY.  135 

By  reason  of  this  gap  in  the  body  politic,  universal  equality 
reigns  in  Russia  as  in  France,  and  therefore,  in  both  countries, 
the  minds  of  men  are  restless  and  unquiet :  with  us  this  is  de- 
monstrated by  visible  agitations  and  explosions  ;  in  Russia, 
political  passions  are  concentrated.  In  France,  every  one  can 
arrive  at  his  object,  by  setting  out  from  the  tribune  *  ;  in  Russia 
by  setting  out  at  court.  The  lowest  of  men,  if  he  can  discover 
how  to  please  his  sovereign,  may  become  to-morrow  second  only 
to  the  Emperor.  The  favour  of  that  god  is  the  prize  which  pro- 
duces as  many  prodigies  of  effort,  and  miraculous  metamorphoses, 
as  the  desire  of  popularity  among  us.  A  profound  flatterer  in 
Petersburg  is  the  same  as  a  sublime  orator  in  Paris.  What  a 
talent  of  observation  must  not  that  have  been  in  the  Russian 
courtiers,  which  enabled  them  to  discover  that  a  means  of  pleasing 
the  Emperor  was  to  walk  in  winter  without  a  great  coat  in  the 
streets  of  Petersburg.  This  flattery  of  the  climate  has  cost  the 
life  of  more  than  one  ambitious  individual.  Under  a  despotism 
which  is  without  limits,  minds  are  as  much  agitated  and  tor- 
mented as  under  a  republic  ;  but  with  this  difference,  the  agita- 
tion of  the  subjects  of  an  autocracy  is  more  painful  on  account 
of  the  silence  and  concealment  that  ambition  has  to  impose  upon 
itself  in  order  to  succeed.  With  us,  sacrifices,  to  be  profitable, 
have  to  be  public ;  here,  on  the  contrary,  they  must  be  secret. 
The  unlimited  monarch  dislikes  no  one  so  much  as  a  subject 
publicly  devoted.  All  zeal  that  exceeds  a  blind  and  servile 
obedience  is  felt  by  him  as  both  troublesome  and  suspicious : 
exceptions  open  the  door  to  pretensions,  pretensions  assume  the 
shape  of  rights,  and,  under  a  despot,  a  subject  who  fancies  that 
he  has  rights  is  a  rebel. 

Marshal  Paskewich  can  attest  the  truth  of  these  remarks : 
they  do  not  dare  to  ruin  him,  but  they  do  all  that  is  possible  to 
make  him  a  cipher.  Before  this  journey,  my  ideas  of  despotism 
were  suggested  by  my  study  of  society  in  Austria  and  Prussia. 
I  had  forgotten  that  those  states  are  despotic  only  in  name,  and 
that  manners  and  customs  there,  serve  to  correct  institutions. 
In  Germany,  the  people  despotically  governed  appeared  to  me 
the  happiest  upon  earth ;  a  despotism  thus  mitigated  by  the 
mildness  of  its  customs  caused  me  to  think  that  absolutism  was 
not,  after  all,  so  detestable  a  thing  as  our  philosophers  had  pre- 
tended. I  did  not  then  know  what  absolute  government  was 
among  a  nation  of  slaves. 

*  It,  must  be  remembered  that  this  was  written  during  the  reign  of 
Louis  Philippe. — Trans. 


. 


136  POPULATION    OF    PETERSBURG. 

It  is  to  Russia  that  we  must  go  in  order  to  see  the  results  of 
this  terrible  combination  of  the  mind  and  science  of  Europe  with 
the  genius  of  Asia — a  combination  which  is  so  much  the  more 
formidable  as  it  is  likely  to  last ;  for  ambition  and  fear — passions 
which  elsewhere  ruin  men  by  causing  them  to  speak  too  much — 
here  engender  silence.  This  forced  silence  produces  a  forced 
calm,  an  apparent  order,  more  strong  and  more  frightful  than 
anarchy  itself.  I  admit  but  few  fundamental  rules  in  politics, 
because,  in  the  art  of  government,  I  believe  more  in  the  efficacy 
of  circumstances  than  of  principles,  but  my  indifference  does  not 
go  so  far  as  to  tolerate  institutions  which  necessarily  exclude  all 
dignity  of  human  character  in  their  objects. 

Perhaps  an  independent  judiciary  and  a  powerful  aristocracy 
would  instil  a  calm  and  an  elevation  into  the  Russian  character, 
and  render  the  land  happy ;  but  I  do  not  believe  the  Emperor 
dreams  of  such  modes  of  ameliorating  the  condition  of  his  people. 
However  superior  a  man  may  be,  he  does  not  voluntarily  renounce 
his  own  way  of  doing  good  to  others. 

But  what  right  have  we  to  reproach  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
with  his  love  of  authority  ?  Is  not  the  genius  of  revolution  as 
tyrannical  at  Paris  as  the  genius  of  despotism  at  Petersburg  ? 

At  the  same  time,  we  owe  it  to  ourselves  to  make  here  a  re- 
striction that  will  show  the  difference  between  the  social  state  of 
the  two  countries.  In  France,  revolutionary  tyranny  is  an  evil 
belonging  to  a  state  of  transition ;  in  Russia,  despotic  tyranny  is 
permanent. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Population  of  Petersburg.— Solitude  of  the  Streets.— The  Architecture.— Place  du  Car- 
rousal  in  Paris.— Square  01  the  Grand  Duke  at  Florence. — The  Newski  Prospect. — Pave- 
ments.—Effects  of  the  Thaw.— Interior  of  the  Houses.— The  Beds.— Visit  to  Prince .— 

Bowers  in  the  Drawing-Room^.— Beauty  of  the  Slavonian  Men.— Russian  Coachmen  and 
Postilions. — The  Feldjiizer. — The  Poetical  Aspect  of  the  Land. — Contrast  between  Men 
and  Things.—  Architecture  of  the  Churches.— A  General  View  of  Petersburg.— Picturesque 
and  beautiful  notwithstanding  its  Architecture.— Nature  beautiful  even  near  the  Pole.— 
Antipathy  between  the  Teutonic  ;md  Russian  Races — its  Effects  in  Poland. — Contrast  be- 
tween the  Russians  and  Spaniards.— lieu  of  the  Summer.— Fuel  in  Petersburg.— Address 
of  the  Russian  People.— The  Designs  ol  'Providence.— Future  Scarcity  of  Fuel  in  Russia.— 
Want  of  inventive  mechanical  Genius  among  the  People.— The  Romans  of  the  North. — 
Relation  between  Peoples  and  their  Governments.—  The  Plasterer*.—  Ugliness  and  Dirtiness 
of  the  Women  of  the  Lower  Classes — their  Disproportion  in  Point  of  Number,  and  its 
Result.— Asiatic  Manners.— Russian  Politeness. 

THE  population  of  Petersburg  amounts  to  four  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  souls,  besides  the  garrison.     So  say  patriotic  Russians  ; 


ARCHITECTURE    IN    ST.    PETERSBURG.  137 

but  those  who  are  well  informed,  and  who  consequently  pass  here 
for  evil-disposed  persons,  assure  me  that  it  does  not  reach  to  four 
hundred  thousand,  in  which  number  the  garrison  is  included. 
Small  houses  of  wood  occupy  the  quarters  beyond  those  immense 
spaces  called  squares,  that  form  the  centre  of  the  city. 

The  Russians,  descended  from  a  union  of  various  warlike  and 
wandering  tribes,  have  not  yet  quite  forgotten  the  life  of  the 
bivouac.  Petersburg  is  the  head-quarters  of  an  army,  and  not 
the  capital  of  a  nation.  However  magnificent  this  military  city 
may  be,  it  appears  bare  and  naked  in  the  eyes  of  one  from  the 
West  of  Europe. 

"  The  distances  are  the  curse  of  Russia,"  said  the  Emperor  j 
and  it  is  a  remark  the  justice  of  which  mav  be  verified  even  in 
the  streets  of  Petersburg.  Thus,  it  is  not  for  the  mere  sake  of 
display  that  people's  carriages  are  drawn  by  four  horses  :  here, 
every  visit  is  an  excursion.  The  Russian  horses,  though  full  of 
mettle  and  sinew,  have  not  so  much  bone  as  ours  ;  the  badness  of 
the  pavement  soon  tires  them  ;  two  horses  could  not  easily  draw, 
for  any  considerable  time,  an  ordinary  carriage  in  the  streets  of 
Petersburg.  To  be  able  to  drive  four  is  therefore  an  object  of 
the  first  necessity  to  those  who  wish  to  live  in  the  fashionable 
world.  Among  the  Russians,  however,  all  have  not  the  right  to 
attach  four  horses  to  their  carriage.  This  permission  is  only  ac- 
corded to  persons  of  a  certain  rank. 

After  leaving  the  centre  of  the  city,  the  stranger  loses  him- 
self in  vaguely-defined  lines  of  road,  bordered  by  barracks  which 
seem  as  though  destined  for  the  temporary  accommodation  of  la- 
bourers employed  in  some  great  work ;  they  are  the  magazines 
of  forage,  clothes,  and  of  other  supplies  for  the  military.  The 
grass  grows  in  these  soi-disant  and  always  deserted  streets. 

So  many  peristyles  have  been  added  to  houses,  so  many  por- 
ticoes adorn  the  barracks  that  here  represent  palaces,  so  great  a 
passion  for  borrowed  decorations  has  presided  over  the  construc- 
tion of  this  temporary  capital,  that  I  count  fewer  men  than  col- 
umns in  the  squares  of  Petersburg,  always  silent  and  melancholy, 
by  reason  of  their  size  alone  and  their  unchangeable  regularity. 
The  line  and  rule  figure  well  the  manner  in  which  absolute  sove- 
reigns view  things,  and  straight  angles  may  be  said  to  be  the 
blocks  over  which  despotic  architecture  stumbles.  Living  archi- 
tecture, if  the  expression  may  be  permitted,  will  not  rise  at  com- 
mand. It  springs,  so  to  speak,  from  itself,  and  is  an  involuntary 
creation  of  the  genius  and  wants  of  a  people.  To  make  a  great 
nation  is  infallibly  to  create  an  architecture.  I  should  not  be 


138  THE    NEWSKI    PROSPECT. 

astonished  if  some  one  succeeded  in  proving  that  there  are  as 
many  original  styles  of  architecture  as  mother  tongues.  The 
mania  for  rules  of  symmetry  is  not,  however,  peculiar  to  the 
Russians  ;  with  us  it,  is  a  legacy  of  the  empire.  Had  it  not  been 
for  this  bad  taste  of  the  Parisian  architects,  we  should,  long  since, 
have  been  presented  with  some  sensible  plan  for  ornamenting 
and  finishing  our  monstrous  Place  du  Carrousel ;  but  the  neces- 
sity for  parallels  and  precedents  stops  every  thing. 

When  architects  of  genius  successively  contributed  their 
efforts  to  making  the  square  of  the  Grand  Duke  at  Florence  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  objects  in  the  world,  they  were  not  tyran- 
nized over  by  a  passion  for  straight  lines  and  arbitrary  propor- 
tions :  they  conceived  the  idea  of  the  beautiful  in  all  its  liberty, 
without  reference  to  mathematical  diagrams.  It  has  been  a  want 
of  the  instinctive  perceptions  of  art,  and  the  free  creations  of 
fancy  working  upon  popular  data,  which  has  caused  a  mathemati- 
cal eye  to  preside  over  the  creation  of  Petersburg.  One  can  ne- 
ver for  a  moment  forget,  in  surveying  this  abode  of  monuments 
without  genius,  that  it  is  a  city  built  by  a  man,  and  not  by  a  peo- 
ple. The  conceptions  appear  limited,  though  their  dimensions 
are  enormous. 

The  principal  street  in  Petersburg  is  the  Newski  Prospect, 
one  of  the  three  lines  which  meet  at  the  palace  of  the  Admiralty. 
These  three  lines  divide  into  five  regular  parts  the  southern  side 
of  the  city,  which,  like  Versailles,  takes  the  form  of  a  fan.  It  is 
more  modern  than  the  port,  built  near  the  Islands  by  Peter  the 
Great. 

The  Newski  Prospect  deserves  to  be  described  in  detail.  It 
is  a  beautiful  street,  a  league  in  length,  and  as  broad  as  our 
Boulevards.  In  several  places,  trees  have  been  planted,  as  un- 
fortunate  in  their  position  as  those  of  Paris.  It  serves  as  a  pro- 
menade and  rendezvous  for  all  the  idlers  of  the  city.  Of  these, 
however,  there  are  but  few,  for  here  people  seldom  move  for  the 
sake  of  moving ;  each  step  that  is  taken  has  an  object  indepen- 
dent of  pleasure.  To  carry  an  order — to  pay  their  court— to 
obey  their  master,  whoever  he  may  be — such  are  the  influences 
which  put  in  motion  the  greater  part  of  the  population  of  Peters- 
burg and  of  the  Empire. 

Large,  uneven  flint-stones  form  the  execrable  pavement  of  this 
boulevard  called  the  Prospect ;  but  here,  as  in  some  other  prin- 
cipal streets,  there  are,  deeply  imbedded  in  the  midst  of  the 
stones,  blocks  of  fir-wood  in  the  shape  of  cubes,  and  sometimes  of 
octagons,  over  which  the  carriages  glide  swiftly.  Each  of  these 


EFFECTS    OF    THE    THAW. HOUSES.  139 

pavements  consists  of  two  lines,  two  or  three  feet  broad,  and 
separated  by  a  strip  of  the  ordinary  flint  pavement,  on  which 
the  shaft  horse  runs.  Two  of  these  roads,  that  is  to  say,  four 
lines  of  the  wood,  run  the  length  of  the  Newski  Prospect,  one  on 
the  left,  the  other  on  the  right  of  the  street ;  they  are  separated 
from  the  houses  by  raised  flags  for  the  foot  passengers.  This 
beautiful  and  vast  perspective  extends — gradually  becoming  less 
populous,  less  beautiful,  and  more  melancholy — to  the  undeter- 
mined limits  of  the  habitable  city  ;  in  other  words,  to  the  confines 
of  the  Asiatic  barbarism  by  which  Petersburg  is  always  besieged  ; 
for  the  desert  may  be  found  at  the  extremity  of  its  more  superb 
streets. 

A  little  below  the  bridge  of  Aniskoff  is  the  street  named 
Jelognaia,  which  leads  to  a  desert  called  the  Square  of  Alexander. 
I  doubt  whether  the  Emperor  Nicholas  has  ever  seen  this  street. 
The  superb  city  created  by  Peter  the  Great,  and  beautified  by 
Catherine  II.  and  other  sovereigns,  is  lost  at  last  in  an  unsightly 
mass  of  stalls  arid  workshops,  confused  heaps  of  edifices  without 
name,  large  squares  without  design,  and  in  which  the  natural 
slovenliness  and  the  inborn  filthiness  of  the  people  of  the  land, 
have  for  one  hundred  years  permitted  every  species  of  dirt  and 
rubbish  to  accumulate.  Such  filth,  heaped  up  year  after  year  in 
the  Russian  cities,  serves  as  a  protestation  against  the  pretension 
of  the  German  sovereigns,  who  flatter  themselves  that  they  have 
thoroughly  polished  the  Sclav onian  nation.  The  primitive  cha- 
racter of  that  people,  however  disguised  it  may  have  been  by  the 
yoke  imposed  upon  it,  at  least  shows  itself  in  some  of  the  corners 
of  the  cities  ;  and  if  they  have  cities  at  all,  it  is  not  because  they 
want  them,  but  because  their  military  masters  compel  them  to 
emulate  the  West  of  Europe.  These  unfortunate  animals,  placed 
in  the  cage  of  European  civilization,  are  victims  of  the  mania,  or 
rather  of  the  ambition  of  the  Czars,  conquerors  of  the  future 
world,  and  who  well  know  that,  before  subjugating  us,  they  must 
imitate  us. 

Nothing,  I  am  told,  can  give  any  idea  of  the  state  of  the  Pe- 
tersburg streets  during  the  melting  of  the  snow.  Within  the 
fortnight  which  follows  the  breaking  up  of  the  ice  on  the  Neva. 
all  the  bridges  are  carried  away,  and  the  communications  between 
different  quarters  of  the  city  are,  during  several  days,  interrupted, 
and  often  entirely  broken  off.  The  streets  then  become  the  beds 
of  furious  torrents ;  few  political  crises  could  cause  so  much 
damage  as  this  annual  revolt  of  Nature  against  an  incomplete  and 
impracticable  civilization.  Since  the  thaw  at  Petersburg  has 


140  BEDS. VISIT    TO    PRINCE    . 

been  described  to  me  I  complain  no  longer  of  the  pavements,  de- 
testable though  they  be  ;  for  I  remember  they  have  to  be  renew- 
ed every  year. 

After  mid-day,  the  Newski  Prospect,  the  grand  square  of  the 
palace,  the  quays  and  the  bridges,  are  enlivened  by  a  consider- 
able number  of  carriages  of  various  kinds,  and  curious  forms  : 
this  rather  relieves  the  habitual  dulness  of  the  most  monotonous 
capital  in  Europe.  The  interior  of  the  houses  is  equally  gloomy  ; 
for  notwithstanding  the  magnificence  of  certain  apartments  des- 
tined to  receive  company,  and  furnished  in  the  English  style, 
there  may  be  seen  in  the  back  ground  various  signs  of  a  want 
of  cleanliness  and  order,  which  at  once  reminds  the  observer  of 
Asia. 

The  articles  of  furniture  least  used  in  Russian  houses  are  beds. 
The  women  servants  sleep  in  recesses  similar  to  those  in  the  old- 
fashioned  porters'  lodges  in  France  ;  while  the  men  roll  them- 
selves up  on  the  stairs,  in  the  vestibule,  and  even,  it  is  said,  in 
the  saloons,  upon  the  cushions,  which  they  place  on  the  floor  for 
the  night. 

This  morning  I  paid  a  visit  to  Prince .  He  is  a  great 

nobleman,  but  ruined  in  fortune,  infirm  and  dropsical.  He  suffers 
so  greatly  that  he  cannot  get  up,  and  yet  he  has  no  bed  on  which 
to  lie, — I  mean  to  say,  nothing  which  would  be  called  a  bed  in 
lands  where  civilization  is  of  older  date.  He  lives  in  the  house 
of  his  sister,  who  is  absent.  Alone  in  this  naked  palace  he  passes 
the  night  on  a  wooden  board  covered  with  a  carpet  and  some 
pillows.  In  all  the  Russian  houses  that  I  have  entered,  I  have 
observed  that  the  screen  is  as  necessary  to  the  bed  of  the  Sclavo- 
nians  as  musk  is  to  their  persons  : — intense  dirtiness  does  not 
always  exclude  external  elegance.  Sometimes,  however,  they 
have  a  bed  for  show ;  an  object  of  luxury  which  is  maintained 
through  respect  for  European  fashions,  but  of  which  no  use  is 
ever  made.  The  residences  of  several  Russians  of  taste  are  dis- 
tinguished by  a  peculiar  ornament — a  little  artificial  garden  in 
a  corner  of  the  drawing-room.  Three  long  stands  of  flowers  are 
ranged  round  a  window,  so  as  to  form  a  little  verdant  saloon  or 
kind  of  chiosc,  which  reminds  one  of  those  in  gardens.  The 
stands  are  surmounted  by  an  ornamental  balustrade,  which  rises 
to  about  the  height  of  a  man,  and  is  overgrown  with  ivy  or  other 
climbing  plants  that  twist  around  the  trellis-work,  and  produce  a 
cool  agreeable  effect  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  apartment,  blazing 
with  gilt  work  and  crowded  with  furniture.  In  this  little  ver- 
dant boudoir  are  placed  a  table  and  a  few  chairs :  the  lady  of  the 


RUSSIAN    COACHMEN    AND    POSTILIONS.  141 

house  is  generally  seated  there,  and  there  is  room  for  two  or 
three  others,  for  whom  it  forms  a  retreat,  which,  if  not  very  se- 
cret, is  secluded  enough  to  please  the  imagination. 

The  effect  of  this  household  thicket  is  not  more  pleasing  than 
the  idea  is  sensible,  in  a  land  where  secrecy  should  preside  over 
all  private  conversation.  The  usage  is,  I  believe,  imported  from 
Asia. 

I  should  not  be  surprised  to  see  the  artificial  gardens  of  the 
Russian  saloons  introduced  some  day  into  the  houses  of  Paris.* 
They  would  not  disfigure  the  abode  of  the  most  fashionable  fe- 
male politician  in  France.  I  should  rejoice  to  see  the  innovation, 
were  it  only  to  cope  with  the  Anglo-manes,  who  have  inflicted  an 
injury  on  the  good  taste  and  the  real  genius  of  the  French,  which 
I  shall  never  pardon.  The  Sclavonians,  when  they  are  handsome, 
are  lightly  and  elegantly  formed,  though  their  appearance  still 
conveys  the  idea  of  strength.  Their  eyes  are  all  oval  in  shape, 
and  have  the  deceitful  furtive  glance  of  tho  Asiatics.  Whether 
dark  or  blue,  they  are  invariably  clear  and  lively,  constantly  in 
motion,  and  when  moved  with  laughter,  their  expression  is  very 
graceful. 

The  people,  grave  by  necessity  rather  than  by  nature,  scarcely 
dare  to  laugh,  except  with  their  eyes ;  but  words  being  thus  re 
pressed,  these  eyes,  animated  by  silence,  supply  the  place  of  elo- 
quence, so  strongly  is  passion  depicted  in  their  expression.  That 
expression  is  almost  always  intelligent,  and  sometimes  gentle, 
though  more  often  anxious,  even  to  a  degree  of  wildness  that 
conveys  the  idea  of  some  animal  of  the  deer  kind  caught  in  the 
toils. 

The  Sclavonians  seem  born  to  guide  a  chariot,  and  show  good 
blood,  like  the  horses  which  they  drive.  Their  strange  appear- 
ance and  the  activity  of  their  steeds  render  it  amusing  to  traverse 
the  streets  of  Petersburg.  Thanks  to  its  inhabitants,  arid  in  de- 
spite of  its  architects,  this  city  resembles  no  other  in  Europe. 

The  Russian  coachmen  sit  upright  on  their  seats ;  they  always 
drive  at  great  speed,  but  with  safety.  The  precision  and  quick- 
ness of  their  eye  are  admirable.  Whether  with  two  or  four  horses, 
they  have  always  two  reins  to  each  horse,  which  they  hold  with 
the  arms  much  extended.  No  impediment  stops  them  in  their 
course ;  men  and  horses,  both  half  wild,  scour  the  city  at  full 
speed  :  but  nature  has  rendered  them  quick  and  adroit ;  conse- 
• 

*They  have  been  introduced  into  many  houses  in  Germany;  and   the 
custom  is  spreading. — Trans. 


142  RUSSIAN    COACHMEN    AND    POSTILIONS. 

quently,  notwithstanding  the  reckless  daring  of  these  coachmen, 
accidents  are  of  rare  occurrence  in  the  streets  of  Petersburg. 
They  have  often  no  whip,  or  when  they  have  one,  it  is  so  short 
that  they  can  make  no  use  of  it.  Neither  do  they  have  recourse 
to  the  voice ;  the  reins  and  the  bit  are  their  only  instruments. 
One  may  traverse  Petersburg  for  hours  without  hearing  a  single 
shout.  If  the  pedestrians  do  not  get  out  of  the  way  with  suffi- 
cient celerity,  the  Fallciter,  or  postilion,  utters  a  little  yelp,  like 
the  sharp  cry  of  a  marmot  roused  in  his  nest,  on  hearing  which, 
every  one  gives  way,  and  the  carriage  rushes  past  without  having 
once  slackened  its  speed. 

The  carriages  are  in  general  void  of  all  taste,  badly  varnished, 
and  seldom  cleaned.  If  brought  from  England,  they  do  not  long 
resist  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  pavement  of  Petersburgh.  The 
harness  is  strong,  and  at  the  same  time  light  and  elegant ;  it  is 
made  of  excellent  leather ;  in  short,  notwithstanding  the  want  of 
taste,  and  the  negligence  of  the  servants,  the  tout  ensemble  of 
these  equipages  is  original,  and  to  a  certain  degree  picturesque. 

They  only  harness  four  horses  abreast  for  long  journeys.  In 
Petersburg,  they  are  placed  two  and  two ;  the  traces  by  which 
they  are  attached  are  long  beyond  all  proportion.  The  child  who 
guides  the  leaders,  is,  like  the  coachman,  dressed  in  the  Parisian 
robe  called  the  armiac.  However  well  it  may  suit  the  man  who 
is  seated,  it  is  not  convenient  on  horseback ;  notwithstanding 
which,  the  Russian  postilion  is  bold  and  dextrous. 

I  do  not  know  how  to  describe  the  gravity,  the  haughty  silence, 
the  address,  and  the  imperturbable  temerity  of  these  little  Sclavo- 
nian  monkeys.  Their  pertuess  and  dexterity  are  my  delight  every 
time  that  I  go  into  the  city ;  and  they  have,  which  is  less  often  seen 
here  than  elsewhere,  the  appearance  of  being  happy.  It  is  the 
nature  of  man  to  experience  satisfaction  when  what  he  does  is 
done  well.  The  Russian  coachman  and  postilions,  being  the  most 
skilful  in  the  world,  are  perhaps  content  with  their  lot,  however 
hard  it  may  be  in  some  respects. 

It  must  also  be  observed  that  those  in  the  service  of  the  nobles 
pride  themselves  on  their  personal  appearance,  and  take  pains 
with  it ;  but  those  who  ply  on  hire,  excite,  as  do  all  their  unfor- 
tunate horses,  my  sincere  pity.  They  remain  in  the  streets  from 
morning  till  evening,  at  the  door  of  the  person  who  lets  them  out, 
or  on  the  stands  assigned  by  the  police.  The  horses  eat  always 
in  harness,  and  the  men  always  on  their  seat.  I  pity  the  former 
more  than  the  latter,  for  the  Russians  have  a  taste  for  servitude. 

The  coachmen  live,  however,  in  this  manner  only  during  the 


THE    FELDJAGER.  143 

summer.  In  the  winter,  sheds  are  built  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
frequented  squares,  and  near  the  theatres  and  the  palaces,  where 
fetes  are  most  frequently  given.  Around  this  shelter  large  fires 
are  lighted,  where  the  servants  warm  themselves  ;  nevertheless,  in 
the  month  of  January,  scarcely  a  night  passes  on  which  there  is  a 
ball,  without  a  man  or  two  dying  of  cold  in  the  streets. 

A  lady,  more  sincere  than  others  to  whom  I  addressed  questions 
on  this  subject,  replied,  "It  is  possible,  but  I  have  never  heard 
it  talked  about."  A  denial  which  involved  a  strange  avowal.  It 
is  necessary  to  visit  this  city,  in  order  to  learn  the  extent  to 
which  the  rich  man  will  carry  his  contempt  for  the  life  of  the  poor, 
and  the  slight  value  which  life  in  general  has  in  the  eyes  of  men 
condemned  to  live  under  absolutism. 

In  Russia,  existence  is  painful  to  every  body.  The  Emperor  is 
scarcely  less  inured  to  fatigue  than  the  lowest  of  his  serfs.  I  have 
been  shown  his  bed,  the  hardness  of  which  would  astonish  our 
common  labourers.  Here,  every  one  is  obliged  to  repeat  to  him- 
self the  stern  truth,  that  the  object  of  life  is  not  to  be  found  on 
earth,  and  that  the  means  of  attaining  it  is  not  pleasure.  The 
inexorable  image  of  duty  and  of  submission  appears  at  each 
instant,  and  makes  it  impossible  to  forget  the  hard  condition  of 
human  existence — labour  and  sorrow! 

If  for  a  moment,  in  the  midst  of  a  public  promenade,  the 
appearance  of  a  few  idlers  should  inspire  the  illusive  idea  that 
there  may  be  in  Russia,  as  elsewhere,  men  who  amuse  themselves 
for  the  sake  of  amusement,  men  who  make  pleasure  a  business,  I 
am  soon  undeceived  by  the  sight  of  some  feldjager,  passing  rapidly 
in  his  telega.  The  feldjager  is  the  representative  of  power  —  he 
is  the  word  of  the  -  sovereign ;  a  living  telegraph,  he  proceeds  to 
bear  an  order  to  another  similar  automaton,  who  awaits  him, 
perhaps,  a  thousand  leagues  oft',  and  who  is  as  ignorant  as  his 
comrade  of  the  objects  that  put  them  both  in  motion.  The  telega, 
in  which  the  man  of  iron  travels,  is  of  all  travelling  vehicles  the 
most  uncomfortable.  It  consists  of  a  little  cart  with  two  leather 
seats,  but  without  springs  or  back.  No  other  kind  of  carriage 
could  stand  the  roads  of  this  savage  empire.  The  first  seat  is  for 
the  coachman,  who  is  changed  at  each  stage ;  the  second  is  reserved 
for  the  courier,  who  travels  till  he  dies  ;  and  among  men  devoted 
to  such  a  life,  death  arrives  early. 

Those  whom  I  see  rapidly  traversing  in  every  direction  the  fine 
streets  of  this  city,  seem  to  represent  the  solitudes  into  which  they 
are  about  to  plunge.  I  follow  them  in  imagination,  and  at  the 
end  of  their  course  appear  to  me  Siberia,  Kamtschatka,  the  Salt 


J44  ARCHITECTS    OF    PETKRSKURG. 

Desert,  the  Wall  of  China,  Lapland,  the  Frozen  Ocean,  Nova 
Zembla,  Persia,  or  the  Caucasus.  These  historical,  or  almost 
fabulous  names,  produce  on  my  imagination  the  effect  of  a  dim 
and  vapoury  distance  in  a  vast  landscape,  and  engender  a  species 
of  reverie  which  oppresses  my  spirits.  Nevertheless,  the  apparition 
of  such  blind,  deaf,  and  dumb  couriers  is  a  poetical  aliment,  con- 
stantly presented  to  the  mind  of  the  stranger.  These  men,  born 
to  live  and  die  in  their  telegas,  impart  of  themselves  a  melancholy 
interest  to  the  humblest  scene  of  life.  Nothing  prosaic  can  sub- 
sist in  the  mind  when  in  the  presence  of  so  much  suffering  and  so 
much  effort.  It  must  be  owned  that,  if  despotism  renders  un- 
happy the  people  that  it  oppresses,  it  is  conducive  to  the  amuse- 
ment of  travellers,  whom  it  fills  with  an  astonishment  ever  new. 
Where  there  is  liberty,  every  thing  is  published  and  speedily 
forgotten,  for  every  thing  is  seen  at  a  glance ;  but  under  an  abso- 
lute government  every  thing  is  concealed,  and  therefore  every 
thing  is  conjectured ;  the  greater  the  mystery,  the  greater  the 
curiosity,  which  is  enhanced  even  by  the  necessary  absence  of 
apparent  interest. 

I  have  been  describing  a  city  without  character,  rather  pom- 
pous than  imposing,  more  vast  than  beautiful,  and  full  of  edifices 
without  style,  taste,  or  historic  interest.  But  to  make  the  pic- 
ture complete,  that  is,  faithful,  I  should  have  inserted  the  figures 
of  men  naturally  graceful,  and  who,  with  their  Oriental  genius, 
have  adapted  themselves  to  a  city  built  by  a  people  which  had  no 
country,  for  Petersburg  has  been  constructed  by  wealthy  men, 
whose  minds  were  formed  by  comparing,  without  deep  study,  the 
different  countries  of  Europe.  This  legion  of  travellers,  more  or 
less  refined,  and  rather  skilful  than  learned,  formed  an  artificial 
nation,  a  community  of  intelligent  and  clever  characters,  recruited 
from  among  all  the  nations  of  the  world.  They  did  not  consti- 
tute the  Russian  people.  These  latter  are  roguish  as  the  slave, 
who  consoles  himself  by  privately  ridiculing  his  master ;  super- 
stitious, boastful,  brave,  and  idle  as  the  soldier ;  and  poetical,  mu- 
sical, and  contemplative  as  the  shepherd ;  for  the  habits  of  a  no- 
made  people  prevailed  for  a  long  time  among  the  Sclavonians. 
All  tlys  is  in  keeping  neither  with  the  style  of  the  architecture 
nor  with  the  plan  of  the  streets  of  Petersburg :  there  has  been 
evidently  no  connection  between  the  architect  and  the  inhabitant. 
Peter  the  Great  built  "the  city  against  the  Swedes  rather  than  for 
the  Russians ;  but  the  natural  character  of  its  population  betrays 
itself,  notwithstanding  their  respect  for  the  caprices  of  their  mas- 
ter; and  it  is  to  such  involuntary  disobedience  that  Russia  owes 


GKNEKAL    VIEW    OF    PETERSBURG.  145 

its  stamp  of  originality.  Nothing  can  efface  the  primitive  cha- 
racter of  its  people ;  and  this  triumph  of  innate  faculties  over  an 
ill-directed  education,  is  an  interesting  spectacle  to  every  traveller 
capable  of  appreciating  it. 

Happily  for  the  painter  and  the  poet,  the  Russians  possess 
an  essentially  religious  sentiment.  Their  churches,  at  least,  are 
their  own.  The  unchangeable  form  of  these  pious  edifices  is  a 
part  of  their  religion :  superstition  defends  her  sacred  fortresses 
against  the  mania  for  mathematical  figures  in  freestone-oblongs, 
planes,  and  straight  lines ;  in  short,  against  the  military,  rather 
than  classic,  architecture  which  imparts  to  each  of  the  cities  of 
this  land  the  air  of  a  camp  destined  to  remain  for  a  few  weeks 
during  the  performance  of  some  grand  manoeuvres. 

The  genius  of  a  nomade  race  is  equally  recognised  in  the  va- 
rious vehicles  and  harness,  the  carriages,  and  the  droshki.  The 
latter  is  so  small  as  quite  to  disappear  under  those  who  occupy  it. 
Its  singular  appearance,  as  it  passes  rapidly  between  long  straight 
lines  of  very  low  houses,  over  which  are  seen  the  steeples  of  a 
multitude  of  churches  and  other  buildings,  may  be  easily  imagined. 

These  gilded  or  painted  spires  break  the  monotonous  line  of 
roofs,  and  rise  in  the  air  with  shafts  so  tapered,  that  the  eye  can 
sacarcely  distinguish  the  point  where  their  gilding  is  lost  in  the 
mists  of  a  polar  sky.  They  are  of  Asiatic  origin,  and  appear  to 
be  of  a  height  which,  for  their  diameter,  is  truly  extraordinary. 
It  is  impossible  to  conceive  how  they  maintain  themselves  in  air. 

Let  the  reader  picture  to  himself  an  immense  assemblage  of 
domes,  to  which  are  always  attached  the  four  belfries  necessary 
to  constitute  a  church  among  the  modern  Greeks ;  a  multitude 
of  cupolas  covered  with  gold,  silver,  or  azure ;  palace  roofs  of 
emerald  green,  or  ultra-marine ;  squares  ornamented  with  bronze 
statues ;  an  immense  river  bordering  and  serving  as  a  mirror  to 
the  picture — let  him  add  to  it  the  bridge  of  boats  thrown  across 
the  river's  broadest  part  —  the  citadel,  where  sleep  in  their  un- 
ornamented  tombs  Peter  the  Great  and  his  family,*  and  an  island 
covered  with  edifices  built  after  the  model  of  Grecian  temples  — 
let  him  embrace  in  one  view  the  whole  of  these  varied  parts,  and 
he  will  understand  how  Petersburg  may  be  infinitely  picturefque, 
notwithstanding  the  bad  taste  of  its  borrowed  architecture,  the 
marshes  which  surround  it,  the  unbroken  flatness  of  its  site,  and 
the  pale  dimness  of  its  finest  summer  days. 

Let  me  not  be  reproached  for  my  contradictions ;  I  have  rny- 

*  The  (jlreek  rite  forbids  sculpture  in  churches. 


146  Si  BLIMITY    OF    THE    ENVIRONS. 

self  perceived  them  without  wishing  to  avoid  them,  for  they  lie 
in  the  things  which  I  contemplate.  I  could  not  give  a  true  idea 
of  objects  that  I  describe,  if  I  did  not  often  seem  to  contradict 
myself.  If  I  were  less  sincere,  I  should  appear  more  consistent ; 
but  in  physical  as  in  moral  order,  truth  is  only  an  assemblage  of 
contrasts — contrasts  so  glaring,  that  it  might  be  said  nattfre  and 
society  have  been  created,  only  in  order  to  hold  together  elements 
which  would  otherwise  oppose  and  repel  each  other. 

Nothing  can  be  more  dull  than  the  sky  of  Petersburg  at  mid- 
day ;  but  the  evenings  and  mornings,  of  which  the  twilight  oc- 
cupies three  quarters  of  the  whole  period  of  life,  are  admirable. 
The  summer  sun,  which  is  submerged  for  a  moment  about  mid- 
night, continues  for  a  long  time  to  float  along  the  horizon  on  a 
level  with  the  Neva  and  the  lowlands  through  which  it  flows. 
It  sheds  over  the  waste,  streams  of  light  brilliant  enough  to  beau- 
tify Nature  in  her  most  cheerless  aspect.  But  it  is  not  the  en- 
thusiasm produced  by  the  deep  colouring  of  tropic  landscapes" 
which  this  beauty  inspires ;  it  is  the  attraction  of  a  dream,  the 
irresistible  influence  of  a  sleep  full  of  memories  and  of  hopes. 
The  promenade  of  the  Islands  at  this  hour  is  the  image  of  a  real 
idyl.  No  doubt  there  are  many  things  wanting  in  these  scenes 
to  constitute  pictures  good  as  compositions  ;  but  Nature  has  more 
power  than  art  on  the  imagination  of  man ;  her  simple  aspect 
suffices  under  every  zone  to  supply  that  necessity  for  admiring 
which  exists  in  the  soul.  God  has  reduced  the  earth  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  pole  to  the  extreme  of  flatness  and  nudity  :  but  not- 
withstanding this  poverty,  the  spectacle  of  creation  will  always, 
in  the  eye  of  man,  be  the  most  eloquent  interpreter  of  the  designs 
of  the  Creator.  May  there  not  be  beauty  in  the  bald  head  ?  For 
my  part,  I  find  the  environs  of  Petersburg  more  than  beautiful : 
they  have  a  sad  and  sombre  dulness  about  them  which  is  sublime, 
and  which,  in  the  depth  of  its  impressiveness,  rivals  the  rich- 
ness and  variety  of  the  most  celebrated  landscapes  of  the  earth. 
They  present  no  pompous  artificial  work,  no  agreeable  invention, 
but  a  profound  solitude,  a  solitude  terrible  and  beautiful  as 
death.  From  one  end  of  her  plains,  from  one  shore  of  her  seas 
to  the  other,  Russia  hears  that  voice  of  God  which  nothing  can  si- 
lence, and  which  says  to  man.  puffed  up  with  the  contemptible  mag- 
nificence of  his  miserable  cities,  "  Your  labour  is  vain  ;  I  am  still 
the  greatest !"  Often,  a  countenance  devoid  of  beauty  has  more 
expression  and  engraves  itself  on  our  memory  in  a  manner  more 
ineffaceable,  than  those  regular  traits  which  display  neither  pas- 
sion nor  sentiment.  Such  is  the  effect  of  our  instinct  of  immor- 


CONTRAST    BETWEEN    RUSSIANS    AND    SPANIARDS.  147 

tality,  that  the  things  which  most  highly  interest  an  inhabitant 
of  earth,  are  those  which  speak  to  him  of  something  unearthly. 

How  admirable  is  the  power  of  the  primitive  endowment  of 
nations  !  For  more  than  a  hundred  years,  the  higher  classes  of 
Russians,  the  nobles,  the  learned,  and  the  powerful  of  the  land, 
have  teen  begging  ideas  and  copying  models  from  all  the  com- 
munities of  Europe  ;  and  yet  this  absurd  phantasy  of  princes  and 
courtiers,  has  not  prevented  the  people  from  remaining  original.* 
The  finely  endowed  Sclavonic  race  has  too  delicate  an  organi- 
zation to  mingle  indiscriminately  with  the  Teutonic  people.  The 
German  character  has,  even  at  this  day,  less  affinity  with  the 
Russian,  than  has  the  Spanish  with  its  cross  of  Arab  blood. 
Slowness,  heaviness,  coarseness,  timidity  and  awkwardness,  have 
nothing  in  common  with  the  genius  of  the  Sclavonians.  They 
would  rather  endure  vengeance  and  tyranny.  Even  the  German 
virtues  are  odious  to  the  Russians  ;  thus,  in  a  few  years  the  latter, 
notwithstanding  their  religious  and  political  atrocities,  have  made 
greater  progress  in  public  opinion  at  Warsawf  than  the  Prussians, 
notwithstanding  the  rare  and  solid  qualities  that  distinguish  the 
German  people.  I  do  not  speak  of  this  as  desirable,  I  only  note 
it  as  an  existing  fact :  it  is  not  all  brothers  who  love,  but  all  un- 
derstand each  other. 

As  to  the  analogy  which  I  imagine  I  can  in  certain  points  disco- 
ver between  the  Russians  and  the  Spaniards,  it  is  accounted  for  by 
the  relations  which  may  have  originally  existed  between  some  of 
the  Arab  tribes,  and  some  of  the  hordes  which  passed  from  Asia 
into  Muscovy.  The  Moresque  architecture  bears  an  affinity  to 
the  Byzantine,  which  is  the  model  of  the  real  Muscovite.  The 
genius  of  the  Asiatic  wanderers  in  Africa  could  not  be  contrary 
to  that  of  other  Eastern  nations  but  recently  established  in 
Europe.  History  is  explained  by  the  progressive  influence  of 
races. 

But  for  the  difference  in  the  religion  and  the  habits  of  the 
people,  I  could  here  fancy  myself  on  one  of  the  most  elevated  and 
barren  plains  of  Castile.  In  fact,  we  are  enduring  at  present  the 
heat  of  Africa:  for  twenty  years  Petersburg  has  not  known  so 
burning  a  summer. 

Notwithstanding  the  tropical  heats,  I  see  the  Russians  already 

*  This  reproach,  which  applies  to  Peter  I.  and  his  immediate  successors, 
completes  the  eulogy  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  who  has  begun  to  stem  the 
torrent  of  the  mania. 

f  The  Polos  are  of  Sclavonic  race. 


148  FUEL    IN    PETERSBURG. 

preparing  their  provision  of  winter  fuel.  Boats  loaded  with  bil- 
lets of  birch-wood,  the  only  fuel  used  here  (for  the  oak  is  a  tree 
of  luxury),  obstruct  the  large  and  numerous  canals  which  intersect 
the  city  in  every  direction.  It  is  built  on  the  model  of  Amster- 
dam :  an  arm  of  the  Neva  flows  through  the  principal  streets;  in 
winter  it  is  filled  up  by  the  ice  and  snow  ;  in  summer,  by  the  in- 
numerable boats.  The  wood  is  conveyed  from  the  boats  in  nar- 
row carts  of  a  primitive  simplicity  of  construction,  on  which  it  is 
piled  to  a  height  which  makes  it  resemble  a  moving  wall.  I  have 
never  once  seen  any  of  these  tottering  edifices  fall. 

The  Russian  people  are  singularly  adroit :  it  is  against  the  will 
of  Nature  that  this  race  of  men  have  been  driven  by  human  revo- 
lutions towards  the  pole,  and  that  it  is  kept  there  by  political  cir- 
cumstances. He  who  would  penetrate  further  into  the  designs  of 
Providence,  might  perhaps  recognise  a  war  with  the  elements  as 
the  rough  trial  to  which  God  has  subjected  a  nation  destined 
hereafter  to  rule  over  others.  A  situation  demanding  a  severe 
struggle  is  the  school  of  Providence. 

Fuel  is  becoming  scarce  in  Russia.  Wood  is  as  dear  in 
Petersburg  as  in  Paris.  There  are  houses  here  which  consume 
as  much  as  the  value  of  nine  or  ten  thousand  francs  per  winter. 
In  beholding  the  inroads  made  upon  the  forests,  we  may  ask,  with 
inquietude,  how  will  the  next  generation  warm  themselves  ? 

If  the  jest  be  pardonable,  I  would  advise,  as  a  measure  of 
prudence  on  the  part  of  the  people  who  enjoy  a  genial  climate,  that 
they  should  furnish  the  Russians  wherewith  to  keep  good  fires. 
They  might  then  less  covet  the  southern  sun. 

The  carts  used  for  moving  the  filth  and  refuse  of  the  city  are 
small  and  inconvenient.  With  such  machines,  a  man  and  horse 
can  do  but  little  work  in  a  day.  Generally  speaking,  the  Russians 
show  their  skill  rather  in  their  manner  of  using  inferior  imple- 
ments than  by  the  pains  they  take  to  perfect  those  which  they 
have.  Endowed  with  little  power  of  invention,  they  most  fre- 
quently want  the  mechanical  appliances  suitable  to  the  end  they 
would  attain.  This  people,  who  possess  so  much  grace  and  so 
much  facility  of  character,  have  no  creative  genius.  Once  for  all, 
the  Russians  are  the  Romans  of  the  North.  Both  peoples  have 
drawn  their  arts  and  sciences  from  strangers.  The  former  have 
intelligence;  but  it  is  an  imitative,  and  therefore  ironical,  intelli- 
gence ;  it  counterfeits  every  thing,  and  invents  nothing.  Ridicule 
is  a  prevailing  trait  in  the  character  of  tyrants  and  slaves.  All 
oppressed  people  are  given  to  slander,  satire,  and  caricature  ;  they 
revenge  themselves  for  their  inaction  and  degradation  by  sarcasm. 


THE    PLASTEKERS.  149 

The  nature  of  the  relation  which  exists  between  nations  and  their 
governments  has  yet  to  be  elucidated.  In  ray  opinion,  each  nation 
has  for  a  government  the  only  one  which  it  could  have.  I  do  not, 
however,  pretend  either  to  impose  or  expound  this  system.  It 
is  a  labour  which  I  leave  to  those  who  are  worthier  and  wiser 
than  I :  my  present  object  is  the  less  ambitious  one  of  describ- 
ing what  has  most  struck  me  in  the  streets  and  on  the  quays  of 
Petersburg. 

Several  parts  of  the  Neva  are  entirely  covered  with  boats  of 
hay.  These  rural  objects  are  larger  than  many  houses  ;  they  are 
hung  with  straw  mattings,  which  gives  them  the  picturesque  ap 
pearance  of  Oriental  tents  or  Chinese  junks. 

The  trade  of  plasterer  is  important  in  a  city  where  the  inte- 
rior of  the  houses  is  a  prey  to  swarms  of  vermin,  and  where  the 
appearance  of  the  exterior  is  spoilt  every  winter.  The  manner 
in  which  the  Russian  plasterers  perform  their  work  is  curious. 
There  are  only  three  months  in  the  year  during  which  they  can 
work  outside  the  houses ;  the  number  of  artificers  is  therefore 
considerable,  and  they  are  found  at  the  corner  of  every  street. 
These  men,  suspended  at  the  peril  of  their  life  on  little  planks 
attached  to  a  long  hanging  cord,  seem  to  support  themselves  like 
insects  against  the  edifices  which  they  rewhiten. 

In  the  provinces  they  whitewash  the  towns  through  which  the 
Emperor  may  have  to  pass  :  is  this  an  honour  rendered  to  the 
sovereign,  or  do  they  seek  to  deceive  him  as  regards  the  wretched- 
ness of  the  land  ?  In  general,  the  Russians  carry  about  their 
persons  a  disagreeable  odour,  which  is  perceptible  at  a  consider- 
able distance.  The  higher  classes  smell  of  musk ;  the  common 
people,  of  cabbage  mixed  with  exhalations  of  onions  and  old 
greasy,  perfumed  leather.  These  scents  never  vary. 

It  may  be  supposed  from  this,  that  the  thirty  thousand  sub- 
jects of  the  Emperor  who  enter  his  palace  on  the  1st  of  January, 
to  offer  him  their  felicitations,  and  the  six  or  seven  thousand  that 
we  shall  see  to-morrow  pressing  into  the  interior  of  the  palace  of 
Peterhoff,  in  honour  of  their  Empress,  must  leave  on  their  pas- 
sage a  formidable  perfume. 

Among  all  the  women  of  the  lower  orders  whom  I  have  hither- 
to met  in  the  streets,  not  a  single  one  has  struck  me  as  possessing 
beauty,  and  the  greater  number  among  them  are  ugly  and  dirty 
to  a  degree  that  is  repulsive.  Astonishment  is  excited  by  the 
recollection  that  they  are  the  wives  and  mothers  of  men  with 
features  so  fine  and  regular,  profiles  so  perfectly  Grecian,  and 
forms  so  elegant  and  supple  as  those  seen  among  even  the  lowest 


150  RUSSIAN    POLITENESS. 

classes  of  the  nation.  There  are  nowhere  old  men  so  handsome, 
nor  old  women  so  hideous,  as  in  Russia.  I  have  seen  few  of  the 
citizens'  wives.  One  of  the  singularities  of  Petersburg  is,  that 
the  number  of  women  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  men  is  less 
than  in  other  capitals.  I  am  assured  that  the  former  do  not,  at 
the  utmost,  form  more  than  a  third  of  the  total  population  of  the 
city.  Their  scarcity  causes  them  to  be  only  too  highly  prized. 
They  attract  so  eager  an  attention  that  there  are  few  who  risk 
themselves  alone,  after  a  certain  hour,  in  the  streets  of  the  less 
populous  quarters.  In  the  capital  of  a  country  altogether  mili- 
tary, and  among  a  people  addicted  to  drunkenness,  this  discreet- 
ness appears  to  me  sufficiently  well  founded.  At  all  times  the 
Russian  women  show  themselves  less  in  public  than  the  French  : 
it  is  not  necessary  to  go  far  back  to  find  the  time  when  they  passed 
their  lives  shut  up  like  the  women  of  Asia.  This  reserve,  the 
remembrance  of  which  still  lingers,  recalls,  like  so  many  other 
Russian  customs,  the  origin  of  the  people.  It  contributes  to  the 
dulness  of  the  streets  and  the  f&tes  of  Petersburg.  The  finest 
sights  in  the  city  are  the  parades,  which  strengthens  my  former 
observation,  that  the  Russian  capital  is  but  a  camp  somewhat 
more  stable  and  pacific  than  a  mere  bivouac. 

There  are  few  cafes  in  Petersburg,  and  no  authorized  public 
balls  in  the  interior  of  the  city.  The  promenades  are  not  much 
frequented,  and  those  who  are  met  there  exhibit  a  gravity  that 
conveys  but  little  idea  of  enjoyment. 

But  if  fear  renders  the  men  serious,  it  also  renders  them  ex- 
tremely polite.  I  have  never  elsewhere  seen  so  many  men  of  all 
classes  treating  each  other  with  respect.  The  driver  of  the 
droshki  formally  salutes  his  comrade,  who  never  passes  him 
without  rendering  reverence  for  reverence ;  the  porters  salute  the 
plasterers,  and  so  with  all  the  others.  This  urbanity  is,  perhaps 
afi'ected ;  at  least,  I  believe  it  overstrained :  nevertheless,  the 
mere  appearance  of  amenity  contributes  to  the  pleasure  of  life. 
If  a  pretended  politeness  has  so  much  about  it  that  is  valuable, 
what  a  charm  must  real  politeness  possess,  the  politeness,  that  is 
to  say,  of  the  heart ! 

A  stay  in  Petersburg  would  be  agreeable  to  any  traveller  of 
standing  or  character,  who  could  believe  all  that  he  heard.  The 
greatest  difficulty  would  be  the  escaping  of  dinners  and  soirees, 
those  real  plagues  of  Russia,  and  it  may  be  added  of  all  societies 
where  strangers  are  admitted,  and,  consequently,  where  intimacy 
is  excluded. 

I  have  accepted  here  but  few  private  invitations.     I  was 


FETE    OF    PETEIUIOFF.  151 

chiefly  curious  to  view  the  solemnities  of  the  court,  but  I  have 
seen  enough :  one  soon  wearies  of  wonders  in  the  contemplation 
of  which  the  heart  has  no  share. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FCte  of  Peterhoff.— The  People  in  the  Palace  of  their  Master.— Immense  Power  of  the  Em- 
peror.—The  Empress  Catherine's  Motive  for  instituting  Schools;*—  Views  of  the  present 
Emperor.— Russian  Hospitality.— Foreigners'  Descriptions  of  Russia.— No  Middle  Class 
in  Russia.— The  Children  of  the  Priesls.— Capital  Punishments.— Abject  Misery  of  the 
People.— Rules  for  Foreigners  who  would  seek  Popularity  in  Russia.— Probity  of  the 
Peasants.— Pickpockets  in~the  Palace.— The  Journal  des  Debats.—  The  Site  of  Peterhoff— 
The  Park  Illuminations.— A  Citizen  Bivouac. — The  English  Palace.— Silence  of  the 
Crowd.— The  Ball.— Good  Order  of  the  Peasants. ^-Accidentsin  the  Gulf.— Evil  Omens.— 
The  Empress's  Mode  of  Life.— Description  of  the  Illuminations.  —Review  of  the  Corps  of 
Cadets.— A  Cadet  in  Favour.— The  Circassian  Guard. 

THE  Fete  of  Peterhoff  may  be  viewed  under  two  different  lights, 
the  material  and  the  moral ;  thus  viewed,  the  same  spectacle 
produces  very  different  impressions. 

I  have  never  seen  any  thing  more  beautiful  to  contemplate, 
yet  at  the  same  time  more  saddening  to  reflect  upon,  than  this 
pretended  national  union  of  courtiers  and  peasants,  who  mingle 
together  in  the  same  saloons  without  any  interchange-  of  real 
sympathy.  In  a  social  point  of  view  the  sight  has  displeased  me, 
because  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Emperor,  by  this  false  display  of 
popularity,  abases  the  great  without  exalting  the  humble.  All 
men  are  equal  before  God,  and  the  Russians'  God  is  the  Emperor. 
This  supreme  governor  is  so  raised  above  earth,  that  he  sees  no 
difference  between  the  serf  and  the  lord.  From  the  height  in 
which  his  sublimity  dwells,  the  little  distinctions  that  divide  man- 
kind escape  his  divine  inspection,  just  as  the  irregularities  which 
appear  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  vanish  before  an  inhabitant  of 
the  sun. 

When  the  Emperor  opens  his  palace  to  the  privileged  peasants 
and  the  chosen  burghers  whom  he  admits  twice  a  year  to  the 
honour  of  paying  their  court*,  he  does  not  say  to  the  labourer  or 
the  tradesman,  "  You  are  a  man  like  myself,"  but  he  says  to  the 
great  lord,  "  You  are  a  slave  like  them,  and  I,  your  God,  soar 
equally  above  you  all."  Such  is  (all  political  fiction  aside)  the 

*  On  the  1st  of  January,  at  Petersburg,  and  at  Petcrhoff  on  the  birthday  of 
the  Empress. 


152  FETE    OF    PETERHOFF. 

moral  meaning  of  the  fete ;  and  it  is  this  which,  in  my  opinion, 
spoils  it.  As  a  spectator,  I  remarked  that  it  pleased  the  sovereign 
and  the  serfs,  much  more  than  the  professed  courtiers. 

To  seek  to  become  a  popular  idol  by  reducing  all  classes  to  a 
level,  is  a  cruel  game,  an  amusement  of  despotism,  which  might 
dazzle  the  men  of  an  earlier  century,  but  which  cannot  deceive 
any  people  arrived  at  the  age  of  experience  and  reflection. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  did  not  devise  this  imposition  ;  and 
such  being  the  case,  it  would  be  the  more  worthy  of  him  to 
abolish  it.  Yet  it  must  be  owned,  that  nothing  is  abolished  in 
Russia  without  peril.  The  people  who  want  the  guarantees  of 
law,  are  protected  only  by  those  of  custom.  An  obstinate  attach- 
ment to  usages,  which  are  upheld  by  insurrection  and  poison,  is 
one  of  the  bases  of  the  constitution,  and  the  periodical  death  of 
sovereigns  proves  to  the  Russians  that  this  constitution  knows 
how  to  make  itself  respected.  The  adjustment  of  such  a  machine 
is  to  me  a  deep  and  painful  mystery. 

In  point  of  magnificent  decorations,  and  picturesque  assem- 
blage of  the  costumes  of  all  ranks,  the  fete  at  Peterhoff  cannot 
be  too  highly  extolled.  Nothing  that  I  had  read,  or  that  had  been 
related  to  me  concerning  it,  gave  me  any  adequate  idea  of  the 
fairy  scene  ;  the  imagination  was  surpassed  by  the  reality. 

The  reader  must  picture  to  himself  a  palace  built  upon  a  ter- 
race, the  height  of  which  seems  that  of  a  mountain,  in  aland  of 
plains  extending  farther  than  the  eye  can  reach  :  a  country  so 
flat,  that,  from  an  elevation  of  sixty  feet,  the  vision  may  sweep 
over  an  immense  horizon.  At  the  foot  of  this  imposing  structure 
lies  a  vast  park,  which  terminates  only  with  the  sea.  on  whose 
bosom  may  be  descried  a  line  of  vessels  of  war,  which  were  illu- 
minated on  the  evening  of  the  fete.  This  illumination  was  gene- 
ral ;  the  fire  blazed  and  extended,  like  a  conflagration,  from  the 
groves  and  terraces  of  the  palace  to  the  waves  of  the  Gulf  of  Fin- 
land. In  the  park,  the  lamps  produced  the  effect  of  daylight. 
The  trees  were  lighted  up  by  suns  of  every  colour.  It  was  not  by 
thousands,  nor  tens  of  thousands,  but  by  hundreds  of  thousands, 
that  the  lights  in  these  gardens  of  Armida  might  be  counted  ;  and 
they  could  all  be  seen  from  the  windows  of  a  palace  crowded  with 
a  people  as  profoundly  respectful  as  if  they  had  lived  all  their 
days  at  court. 

Nevertheless,  in  this  assemblage,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
efface  all  distinctions  of  rank,  each  class  might  still  be  separately 
traced.  Whatever  attacks  despotism  may  have  made  upon  the 
aristocracy,  there  are  yet  castes  in  Russia.  Here  is  presented 


FETE    OF    PETERHOFF.  153 

one  more  point  of  resemblance  to  the  East,  and  not  one  of  the 
least  striking  contradictions  of  social  order  created  by  the  manners 
of  the  people  combined  with  the  government  of  the  country. 
Thus,  at  this  fete  of  the  Empress,  this  true  bacchanalian  revel  of 
absolute  power,  I  recognised  the  order  which  reigns  throughout 
the  state,  amid  the  apparent  disorder  of  the  ball.  Those  whom  I 
met  were  always  either  merchants,  soldiers,  labourers,  or  courtiers, 
and  each  class  was  distinguished  by  its  costume.  A  dress  which 
would  not  denote  the  rank  of  the  man,  and  a  man  whose  only 
worth  should  arise  from  his  personal  merit,  would  be  considered 
as  anomalies,  as  European  inventions,  imported  by  restless  inno- 
vators and  imprudent  travellers.  It  must  never  be  forgotten  that 
we  are  here  on  the  confines  of  Asia :  a  Russian  in  a  frock  coat, 
in  his  own  country,  appears  to  me  like  a  foreigner. 

True  bearded  Russians  think  as  I  do  upon  this  subject,  and 
they  comfort  themselves  with  the  idea  that  a  day  will  come  when 
they  shall  be  able  to  put  to  the  sword  all  these  coxcomical  infidels 
to  ancient  usages,  who  neglect  the  nation  and  betray  their  country, 
in  order  to  rival  the  civilisation  of  strangers. 

Russia  is  placed  upon  the  limits  of  two  continents.  It  is  not 
in  the  nature  of  that  which  is  European  to  amalgamate  perfectly 
with  that  which  is  Asiatic.  The  Muscovite  community  has  been 
governed  hitherto  only  by  submitting  to  the  violence  and  in- 
coherence attendant  upon  the  contact  of  two  civilisations,  entirely 
different  in  character.  This  presents  to  the  traveller  a  field  of 
interesting,  if  not  consolatory  speculation. 

The  ball  was  a  rout ;  it  professed  to  be  a  masquerade,  for  the 
men  wore  small  pieces  of  silk,  called  Venetian  mantles,  which 
floated  in  a  ridiculous  manner  above  their  uniforms.  The  saloons 
of  the  old  palace,  filled  with  people,  resembled  an  ocean  of  heads 
of  greasy  hair,  over  all  of  which  rose  proudly  the  noble  head  of 
the  Emperor,  whose  stature,  voice,  and  will,  alike  soar  above  his 
people.  This  prince  seems  worthy  and  capable  of  subjugating 
the  minds  of  men,  even  as  he  surpasses  their  persons.  A  sort  of 
mysterious  influence  attaches  to  his  presence  :  at  Peterhoff,  on 
the  parade,  in  war,  and  in  every  moment  of  his  life,  may  be  seen 
in  him  the  power  that  reigns. 

This  perpetual  reigning,  and  its  perpetual  worship,  would  be 
a  real  comedy,  if  upon  such  permanent  dramatic  representation 
there  did  not  depend  the  existence  of  sixty  millions  of  men,  who 
live  only  because  the  man  whom  you  see  before  you,  playing  the 
part  of  the  Emperor,  gives  them  permission  to  breathe,  and  dic- 
tates to  them  the  mode  of  using  that  permission.  It  is  the  divine 


154  IMMENSE  POWER  OF  THE  EMPEROR. 

right,  applied  to  the  mechanism  of  social  life.  Such  is  the  serious 
side  of  the  representation,  wherein  are  involved  incidents  of  so 
grave  a  nature,  that  fear  soon  extinguishes  the  inclination  to 
laughter. 

There  does  not  exist  on  the  earth  at  the  present  time,  not  in 
Turkey,  not  even  in  China,  a  single  man  who  enjoys  and  exercises 
such  power  as  the  Emperor.  Let  the  reader  figure  to  himself  all 
the  skilfulness  and  experience  of  our  modern  governments,  per- 
fected as  they  are  by  centuries  of  practice,  put  into  exercise  in  a 
still  young  and  uncivilised  society ;  the  rubrics  of  the  adminis- 
trations of  the  West,  aiding  the  despotism  of  the  East ;  European 
discipline  supporting  the  tyranny  of  Asia ;  the  police  employed 
in  concealing  barbarism,  in  order,  not  to  destroy,  but  to  perpetuate 
it;  disciplined  brute  force  and  the  tactics  of  European  armies, 
serving  to  strengthen  an  Eastern  policy ; — let  him  conceive  the 
idea  of  a  half-savage  people,  who  have  been  enrolled  and  drilled, 
without  having  been  civilised,  and  he  will  be  able  to  understand 
the  social  and  moral  state  of  the  Russian  nation.  To  profit  by 
the  progressive  discoveries  in  the  art  of  governing  made  by  the 
European  nations,  in  order  to  rule  sixty  millions  of  Orientals,  has 
been  from  the  time  of  Peter  the  First  the  problem  to  be  studied 
by  those  who  govern  Russia. 

The  reigns  of  Catherine  the  Great  and  of  Alexander  did  but 
prolong  the  systematic  infancy  *  of  this  nation. 

Catherine  had  instituted  schools  to  please  the  French  philo- 
sophers, whose  praises  her  vanity  desired  to  obtain.  The  gov- 
ernor of  Moscow,  one  of  her  old  favourities,  who  was  rewarded 
by  a  pompous  exile  in  the  ancient  capital  of  the  empire,  wrote  to 
her  one  day  that  no  one  would  send  their  children  to  the  schools. 
The  Empress  replied  pretty  nearly  in  these  words: — 

"  My  dear  Prince,  do  not  distress  yourself  because  the  Russians 
have  no  desire  for  knowledge  :  if  I  institute  schools,  it  is  not  for 
ourselves,  but  for  Europe,  in  whose  estimation  we  must  maintain 
our  standing ;  but  if  our  peasants  should  really  seek  to  become 
enlightened,  neither  you  nor  I  could  continue  in  our  places." 

This  letter  has  been  read  by  a  person  in  whose  statements  I 
have  every  confidence.  Undoubtedly,  in  writing  it,  the  Empress 
forgot  herself;  and  it  is  precisely  because  she  was  subject  to  such 
absence  of  mind  that  she  was  considered  so  amiable,  and  that  she 
exercised  so  much  power  over  the  minds  of  imaginative  men. 

The  Russians  will,  according  to  their  usual  tactics,  deny  the 

*  L'eufuiice  systematique. 


VIEWS    OF    THE    PRESENT    EMPEROR.  155 

authenticity  of  the  anecdote ;  but  if  I  cannot  be  certain  as  to  the 
strict  accuracy  of  the  words,  I  can  affirm  that  they  truly  express 
the  sentiments  of  the  sovereign.  In  this  trait  may  be  discovered 
the  spirit  of  vanity  which  rules  and  torments  the  Russians,  and 
which  perverts,  even  in  its  source,  the  power  established  over 
them. 

Their  unfortunate  desire  for  the  good  opinion  of  Europe  is  a 
phantom  which  pursues  them  in  the  secrecy  of  thought,  and  re- 
duces conversation  among  them  to  a  trick  of  jugglery,  executed 
more  or  less  adroitly. 

The  present  Emperor,  aided  by  his  sound  judgment  and  his 
clear  apprehension,  has  perceived  the  shoal,  but  will  he  be  able  to 
avoid  it  ?  More  than  the  strength  of  Peter  the  Great  is  required 
to  remedy  the  evil  caused  by  that  first  corrupter  of  the  Russians. 

At  the  present  time  the  difficulty  is  of  a  double  character ;  the 
mind  of  the  peasant  remains  rude  and  barbarous,  while  his  habits 
and  his  disposition  cause  him  to  submit  to  restraint.  At  the  same 
time,  the  false  refinement  of  the  nobles  contravenes  the  national 
character,  upon  which  all  attempts  to  ennoble  the  people  can  alone 
be  built.  What  a  complication  !  Who  will  unloose  this  modern 
Gordian  knot  ? 

I  admire  the  Emperor  Nicholas.  A  man  of  genius  can  alone 
accomplish  the  task  he  has  imposed  upon  himself :  he  has  seen  the 
evil,  he  has  formed  an  idea  of  the  remedy,  and  he  is  endeavouring 
to  apply  it. 

But  can  one  reign  suffice  to  eradicate  evils  which  were  im- 
planted a  century  and  a  half  ago  ?  The  mischief  is  so  deeply 
rooted,  that  it  strikes  even  the  eye  of  strangers  the  least  attentive, 
and  that  too  in  a  country  where  every  one  conspires  to  deceive 
the  traveller. 

In  travelling  in  Russia,  a  light  and  superficial  mind  may  feed 
itself  on  illusions ;  but  whoever  has  his  eyes  open,  and  adds  to 
some  little  power  of  observation  an  independent  humour,  will  be 
presented  with  a  continued  and  painful  labour,  which  consists  in 
discovering  and  discerning,  at  every  point,  the  struggle  between 
two  nations  carried  on  in  one  community.  These  two  nations  are, 
— Russia  as  she  is,  and  Russia  as  they  would  have  her  to  appear 
in  the  eyes  of  Europe. 

The  Emperor  is  less  secure  than  any  one  against  the  snares  of 
illusion.  The  reader  will  remember  the  journey  of  Catherine  to 
Cherson :  she  traversed  deserts,  but  they  built  her  lines  of  villages 
at  every  half  league  of  the  road  by  which  she  passed,  and  as  she 
did  not  go  behind  the  scenes  of  this  theatre  on  which  the  tyrant 


156  RUSSIAN    HOSPITALITY. 

played  the  fool,  she  believed  her  southern  provinces  were  well- 
peopled,  though  they  continued  cursed  with  a  sterility  which  was 
owing  to  the  oppression  of  her  government  rather  than  to  the 
rigour  of  nature.  The  finesse  of  the  men  charged  by  the  Em- 
peror with  the  details  of  Russian  administration,  still  exposes  the 
sovereign  to  similar  deceptions. 

The  corps  diplomatique,  and  the  Western  people  in  general, 
have  always  been  considered  by  this  Byzantine  government  and 
by  Russia  in  general,  as  malignant  and  jealous  spies.  There  is 
this  similarity  between  the  Russians  and  the  Chinese,  that  both 
one  and  the  other  always  believe  that  strangers  envy  them :  they 
judge  us  by  their  own  sentiments. 

The  Russian  hospitality  also,  vaunted  as  it  is,  has  become  an 
art  which  may  be  resolved  into  a  refined  species  of  policy.  It 
consists  in  rendering  its  guest  content  at  the  least  possible  cost  of 
sincerity.  Here,  politeness  is  only  the  art  of  reciprocally  dis- 
guising the  double  fear  that  each  experiences  and  inspires.  I 
hear  every  where  spoken  the  language  of  philosophy,  and  every 
where  I  see  that  oppression  is  the  order  of  the  day.  They  say  to 
me, — "  We  would  gladly  dispense  with  being  arbitrary,  we  should 
then  be  more  rich  and  prosperous ;  but  we  have  to  do  with  an 
Asiatic  people :  "  at  the  same  time,  they  think  in  their  hearts, 
"  We  would  gladly  dispense  with  talking  liberalism  and  philan- 
thropy, we  should  then  be  more  happy  and  more  strong ;  but 
we  have  to  do  with  the  governments  of  Europe." 

The  Russians  of  all  classes  conspire,  with  an  unanimity  which  is 
extraordinary,  in  causing  duplicity  to  triumph  among  themselves. 
They  have  a  dexterity  in  lying,  a  natural  proneness  to  deceit, 
which  is  revolting.  Things  that  I  admire  elsewhere,  I  hate  here, 
because  I  find  them  too  dearly  paid  for  ;  order,  patience,  calmness, 
elegance,  respectfulness,  the  natural  and  moral  relations  which 
ought  to  exist  between  those  who  think  and  those  who  execute, 
in  short,  all  that  gives  a  worth  and  a  charm  to  well-organised 
societies,  all  that  gives  a  meaning  and  an  object  to  political  insti- 
tutions, is  lost  and  confounded  here  in  one  single  sentiment — that 
of  fear.  In  Russia,  fear  replaces,  that  is,  paralyses  thought. 
This  sentiment,  when  it  reigns  alone,  can  never  produce  more  than 
the  appearances  of  civilisation  ;  whatever  short-sighted  legislators 
may  say,  fear  will  never  be  the  moving  influence  of  a  well- 
organised  society ;  it  is  not  order,  it  is  the  evil  of  chaos ;  where 
liberty  is  wanting,  there  soul  and  truth  must  be  wanting  also. 
Russia  is  a  body  without  life,  a  colossus  which  subsists  only  by  its 
head ;  and  of  which  the  members,  all  equally  deprived  of  force, 


INFLUENCE    OF    FEAR    ON    SOCIETY.  157 

languish  !  Thence  arises  a  profound  inquietude,  an  inexpressible 
uneasiness,  an  uneasiness  which  does  not,  like  that  of  the  new 
French  rtvolutionnaires,  arise  from  a  vagueness  of  ideas,  from 
abuses,  from  the  satiety  of  material  prosperity,  or  the  jealousies 
which  a  combination  of  agencies  gives  birth  to;  it  is  the  ex- 
pression of  a  real  state  of  suffering,  the  indication  of  an  organic 
malady. 

I  believe  that  in  no  part  of  the  world  do  the  men  enjoy  less 
real  happiness  than  in  Russia.  We  are  not  happy  among  our- 
selves, but  we  feel  that  happiness  is  in  our  power :  among  the 
Russians  it  is  unattainable.  Imagine  republican  passions  (for, 
once  again,  fictitious  equality  reigns  under  a  Russian  emperor) 
boiling  beneath  the  silence  of  despotism  !  This  is  a  terrific  com- 
bination, especially  as  viewed  with  regard  to  its  future  influence 
upon  the  world.  Russia  is  a  cauldron  of  boiling  water,  well 
closed,  but  placed  over  a  fire  which  is  ever  becoming  more  fiercely 
heated  ;  I  dread  the  explosion,  and  the  Emperor  has  several 
times  experienced  the  same  dread  during  the  course  of  his  labo- 
rious reign ;  laborious  in  peace  as  in  war,  for,  in  our  days,  empires, 
like  machines,  are  ruined  by  remaining  inactive. 

It  is,  then,  this  head  without  a  body,  this  sovereign  without  a 
nation,  who  gives  popular  fetes  !  It  appears  to  me  that  before 
creating  popularity,  he  should  create  a  people. 

In  sooth,  the  country  lends  itself  marvellously  to  every  species 
of  fraud  :  there  are  slaves  elsewhere,  but  to  find  a  nation  of 
courtly  slaves  it  is  necessary  to  visit  Russia.  One  scarcely  knows 
at  which  most  to  wonder,  the  inconsistency  or  the  hypocrisy.  Ca- 
therine II.  is  not  dead ;  for  notwithstanding  the  open  character 
of  her  grandson,  it  is  still  by  dissimulation  that  Russia  is  gov- 
erned. Here,  to  avow  the  tyranny  would  be  to  make  a  beneficial 
progress. 

After  all,  what  is  this  crowd,  whose  respectful  familiarity  in 
presence  of  its  sovereign  has  been  so  much  extolled  in  Europe  ? 
Do  not  deceive  yourselves :  these  are  the  slaves  of  slaves.  The 
great  lords  send  to  the  fete  of  the  Empress  chosen  peasants,  who, 
it  is  pretended,  arrive  by  chance.  This  elite  of  the  serfs  is  join- 
ed by  the  most  respectable  and  best  known  tradespeople,  for  it 
is  necessary  to  have  a  few  men  with  beards  to  satisfy  the  old- 
fashioned  Russians.  Such  is,  in  reality,  the  people  whose  excel- 
lent disposition  has  been  held  up  as  an  example  to  other  people 
by  the  sovereigns  of  Russia,  from  the  time  of  the  Empress  Eli- 
zabeth. It  is,  I  believe,  from  her  reign  that  this  kind  of  fete 
dates.  At  present,  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  notwithstanding  his 


158  NO    MIDDLE    CLASS    IN    RUSSIA. 

iron  character,  his  admirable  rectitude  of  intention,  and  the 
authority  with  which  his  public  and  private  virtues  invest  him, 
could  not  perhaps  abolish  the  usage.  It  is  therefore  true  that, 
even  under  governments  the  most  absolute  in  appearance,  circum- 
stances are  stronger  than  men. 

Nothing  is  so  perilous  for  a  man,  however  elevated  his  posi- 
tion may  be,  than  to  say  to  a  nation,  "  You  have  been  deceived, 
and  I  will  be  no  longer  accessory  to  your  error."  The  vulgar 
cling  to  falsehood,  even  when  it  injures  them,  rather  than  to 
truth,  because  human  pride  prefers  that  which  comes  from  man 
to  that  which  comes  from  Grod.  This  is  true  under  all  govern- 
ments, but  doubly  so  under  despotism. 

An  independence  like  that  of  the  moujiks  *  of  Peterhoff  can 
alarm  nobody.  It  forms  the  liberty  and  equality  which  despots 
love.  It  may  be  boasted  of  without  risk ;  but  advise  Russia  to  a 
gradual  emancipation,  and  you  will  soon  see  what  is  said  of  you 
in  the  country  ! 

I,  yesterday,  heard  the  courtiers,  as  they  passed  near  me, 
boasting  of  the  politeness  of  their  serfs  :  "  Who  ever  saw  such  a 
fete  in  France  ?  "  they  said.  I  was  strongly  tempted  to  answer 
them  :  "  In  order  to  compare  our  two  people,  we  must  wait  until 
yours  exists." 

I  called  to  mind  at  the  same  time  a  fete  which  I  once  gave 
to  the  lower  orders  at  Seville.  It  was  under  the  despotism  of 
Ferdinand  VII.,  but  the  true  politeness  of  those  Spaniards,  free 
de  facto  if  not  de  jure,  furnished  me  with  an  object  of  compari- 
son little  favourable  to  the  Russians.! 

Russia  is  a  book,  the  table  of  whose  contents  is  magnificent, 
but  beware  of  going  further.  If  you  turn  over  the  leaves,  you 
will  find  no  performance  answering  to  the  promise :  all  the  chap- 
ters are  headed,  but  all  have  to  be  filled  up.  How  many  of  the 
Russian  forests  are  only  marshes,  where  you  will  never  cut  a  fag- 
got !  Plow  many  distant  regiments  are  there  without  men,  and 
cities  and  roads  which  exist  only  in  idea  !  The  nation  itself  is 
as  yet  nothing  more  than  a  puff  placarded  upon  Europe,  dupe 
of  a  diplomatic  fiction.  I  have  found  here  no  real  life  except 
that  of  the  emperor ;  no  constitution  except  that  of  the  court. 

The  tradespeople  who  ought  to  form  a  middle  class  are  too 
few  in  number  to  possess  any  influence  in  the  state ;  besides,  they 
are  almost  all  foreigners.  The  authors  amount  to  one  or  two  in 

*  Russian  peasants, 
f  See  "  Spain  under  Ferdinand  VII."  * 


CHILDREN    OF    THE    PRIESTS;  159 

each  generation  :  the  artists  are  like  the  authors,  their  scarcity 
causes  them  to  be  esteemed ;  but  though  this  favours  their  per- 
sonal prospects,  it  is  injurious  to  their  social  influence.  There 
are  no  legal  pleaders  in  a  country  where  there  is  no  justice  : 
where,  then,  is  to  be  found  that  middle  class  which  constitutes 
the  strength  of  other  states,  and  without  which  the  people  are 
only  a  flock,  guided  by  a  few  well-trained  watch-dogs  ?  I  have 
not  mentioned  another  class  of  men  who  are  not  to  be  reckoned 
either  among  the  great  or  the  little.  These  are  the  sons  of  the 
priests,  who  almost  all  become  subaltern  employes — the  commis- 
sioners and  deputies  who  are  the  plagues  of  Russia.  They  form 
a  species  of  obscure  noblesse,  very  hostile  to  the  great  nobles  ; 
a  noblesse  whose  spirit  is  anti-aristocratic  in  the  true  political 
signification  of  the  word,  and  who  at  the  same  time  are  very  bur- 
densome to  the  serfs.  These  are  the  men  (inconvenient  to  the 
state,  and  fruits  of  the  schism  which  permits  the  priest  to  marry) 
who  will  commence  the  approaching  revolution  of  Russia. 

The  punishment  of  death  does  not  exist  in  this  land  except 
for  the  crime  of  high  treason ;  but  there  are  certain  criminals 
whom  they  nevertheless  kill.  The  way  in  which  they  reconcile  the 
mildness  of  the  code  with  the  traditional  ferocity  of  manners,  is 
this  :  when  a  criminal  is  condemned  to  more  than  a  hundred 
strokes  of  the  knout,  the  executioner,  who  understands  the  mean- 
ing of  such  a  sentence,  kills  him  through  humanity,  by  striking 
him  at  the  third  blow  on  a  mortal  part.  And  yet  the  punish- 
ment of  death  is  abolished  !  To  making  the  law  thus  lie,  the 
proclamation  of  the  most  audacious  tyranny  would  be  prefer- 
able. 

Should  it  be  thought  that  I  judge  Russia  too  severely,  I 
must  plead  the  involuntary  impression  that  I  receive  each  day 
from  persons  and  from  thiDgs,  and  which  every  friend  of  human- 
ity would  receive  in  my  place,  if,  like  me,  he  endeavoured  to  look 
beyond  the  surface  that  would  be  exhibited  to  him. 

This  empire,  immense  as  it  is,  is  no  more  than  a  prison,  of 
which  the  Emperor  keeps  the  key.  Nothing  can  exceed  the 
misery  of  the  subjects  unless  it  be.  that  of  the  prince.  The  life 
of  the  gaoler  has  always  appeared  to  me  so  similar  to  that  of 
the  prisoner,  that  I  am  astonished  at  the  mental  illusion  which 
makes  the  one  believe  himself  so  much  less  to  be  pitied  than  the 
other. 

Man,  here,  knows  neither  the  real  social  enjoyments  of  culti- 
vated minds,  nor  the  absolute  and  animal  liberty  of  the  savage, 
nor  yet  the  independence  of  action  of  the  half  savage — the  bar- 


160  ABJECT    STATE    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

barian  ;  I  can  see  no  compensation  for  the  misery  of  being  born 
under  this  system,  except  the  dreams  of  vanity  and  the  love  of 
command ;  on  these  passions  I  stumble  every  time  I  return  to 
the  endeavour  of  analysing  the  moral  life  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Russia.  Russia  thinks  and  lives  as  a  soldier  !  A  soldier,  to 
whatever  country  he  may  belong,  is  scarcely  a  citizen ;  and  here 
less  than  anywhere  can  he  be  called  one  ;  he  is  rather  a  prisoner 
for  life,  condemned  to  look  after  other  prisoners. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  word  prison  signifies  some 
thing  more  here  than  it  does  elsewhere.  When  one  thinks  on  all 
the  subterranean  cruelties  concealed  from  our  pity  by  the  dis- 
cipline of  silence,  in  a  land  where  every  man  serves  an  appren- 
ticeship to  discretion,  it  makes  one  tremble.  He  who  would 
cherish  a  hatred  for  reserve  should  come  here.  Every  little 
check  in  conversation,  every  change  of  expression,  every  inflexion 
of  voice,  teaches  me  the  dangers  of  confidence  and  candour. 

The  very  appearance  of  the  houses  brings  to  my  mind  the 
unhappy  condition  of  human  existence  in  this  land. 

If  I  cross  the  threshold  of  the  palace  of  some  great  noble- 
man, and  see  there  a  disgusting  and  ill-disguised  uncleanliness 
reigning  amidst  an  ostentatious  display  of  luxury;  if  I,  so  to 
speak,  inhale  vermin,  even  under  the  roof  of  opulence, — my  mind 
will  not  stop  at  that  which  is  presented  merely  by  the  senses  ; 
it  wanders  further,  and  sees  all  the  filth  and  corruption  which 
must  poison  the  dungeons  of  a  country  where  even  the  rich  do 
not  shrink  from  loathsome  contact.  When  I  suffer  from  the 
dampness  of  my  chamber,  I  think  of  the  unfortunate  beings  ex- 
posed to  that  of  the  sub-marine  prison  of  Kronstadt,  the  fortress 
of  Petersburg,  and  of  many  other  subterranes  of  which  I  forget 
even  the  name.  The  ghastly  visages  of  the  soldiers  whom  I 
meet  in  the  streets  remind  me  of  the  dishonesty  of  those  em- 
ployed in  provisioning  the  army.  The  fraud  of  these  traitors, 
paid  by  the  Emperor  to  feed  his  guards,  is  written  in  lines  of 
lead  on  the  livid  faces  of  the  unfortunate  wretches,  deprived  of 
wholesome  and  even  sufficient  nutriment  by  men  who  care  only 
to  enrich  themselves  as  rapidly  as  possible,  unmindful  of  the  dis- 
grace they  are  bringing  on  their  government,  and  of  the  maledic- 
tions of  the  regiments  of  slaves  whom  they  kill.  Finally,  at 
each  step  I  here  take,  I  see  rising  before  me  the  phantom  of 
Siberia,  and  I  think  of  all  that  is  implied  in  the  name  of  that 
political  desert,  that  abyss  of  misery,  that  tomb  of  living  men, 
— a  land  peopled  with  infamous  criminals  and  sublime  heroes,  a 
colony  without  which  this  empire  would  be  as  incomplete  as  a 
palace  without  cellars. 


RULES    FOR    OBTAINING    POPULARITY    IN    RUSSSIA.  161 

A  traveller  who  would  allow  himself  to  be  indoctrinated  by  the 
people  of  the  country,  might  overrun  the  empire  from  one  end  to 
the  other,  and  return  home  without  having  surveyed  any  thing 
but  a  series  of  fagades.  This  is  what  he  should  do  in  order  to 
please  his  entertainers.  I  am  aware  that  such  is  the  case,  but  so 
high  a  price  for  their  hospitality  I  cannot  afford  to  pay. 

Provided  a  stranger  shows  himself  ridiculously  active,  rises 
early  after  having  retired  to  rest  late,  never  fails  to  attend  every 
ball  and  review,  in  short,  provided  he  keeps  too  constantly  in 
motion  to  be  able  to  think,  he  is  well  received  every  where,  well 
thought  of,  and  well  feted ;  a  crowd  of  strangers  press  his  hand 
every  time  that  the  Emperor  may  have  spoken  to  him,  smiles  are 
lavishly  bestowed,  and,  on  leaving,  he  is  pronounced  a  distin- 
guished traveller.  He  reminds  me  of  the  bourgeois  gentleman 
played  upon  by  the  Mufti  of  Moliere.  The  Russians  have  coined 
a  French  word  that  admirably  designates  their  political  hospi- 
tality ;  in  speaking  of  foreigners  whom  they  blind  by  means  of 
fetes — "  we  must  garland  them,"*  they  say.  But  let  the  stranger 
be  on  his  guard  lest  he  should  for  a  moment  betray  any  relaxation 
of  zeal ;  at  the  least  symptom  of  fatigue,  or  of  penetration,  he  will 
see  the  Russian  spirit,  the  most  caustic  of  all  spirits,  rising  up 
against  him  like  an  enraged  serpent,  f 

Ridicule,  that  empty  consolation  of  the  oppressed,  is  here  the 
pleasure  of  the  peasant,  as  sarcasm  is  the  accomplishment  of  the 
noble ;  irony  and  imitation  are  the  only  natural  talents  which  I 
have  discovered  among  the  Russians.  The  stranger  once  exposed 
to  the  venom  of  their  criticism  would  never  recover  from  it ;  he 
would  be  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth  like  a  deserter  running  the 
gauntlet,  and  finally  be  trampled  under  the  feet  of  a  crowd  the 
most  hardened  and  ambitious  in  the  world.  The  ambitious  have 
always  a  pleasure  in  ruining  others  ;  "  Destroy  him  as  a  precaution, 
there  will  at  any  rate  be  one  the  less ;  every  man  must  be  viewed 
as  a  rival  because  it  is  possible  that  he  may  become  one." 

I  have  no  greater  belief  in  the  probity  of  the  moujik.  They  tell 
me  that  he  would  not  pluck  a  flower  in  the  garden  of  his  Em- 
peror ;  that  I  do  not  dispute.  I  know  that  fear  will  produce 
miracles,  but  I  know  also  that  this  model  people,  these  peasant 

*  II  faut  les  cnguirlandcr. 

\  A  well  known  means  of  flattery,  and  one  of  which  the  success  is  certain, 
is  to  exhibit  one's  self  in  the  streets  of  Petersburg  before  the  eyes  of  the 
Kmperor  without  ijivat-cout  or  cloak  :  an  heroic  flattery  of  the  climate  which 
may  cost  the  life  of  him  who  practises  it.  It  is  not  difficult  to  displease  in 
a  land  where  such  modes  of  pleasing  are  in  use. 


1C2  .POLITICAL     INFLECTIONS. 

courtiers,  do  not  scruple  to  rob  their  lordly  rivals  on  a  day  when, 
too  much  affected  by  their  presence  at  the  palace,  and  too  con- 
fident in  the  honourable  sentiments  of  the  serf  ennobled  for  the 
hour,  they  cease  for  one  moment  to  watch  the  movements  of  the 
said  serf's  hands. 

Yesterday,  at  the  imperial  and  popular  ball  of  the  palace  of 
Peterhoff,  the  Sardinian  ambassador  had  his  watch  very  adroitly 
extracted,  notwithstanding  the  chain  which  formed  its  guard. 
Several  people  missed  also  their  handkerchiefs  and  other  articles 
in  the  press.  I  myself  lost  a  purse  lined  with  a  few  ducats,  and 
consoled  myself  for  the  loss  in  laughing  at  the  eulogies  lavished  on 
the  probity  of  this  people  by  its  lords.  The  latter  well  know  the 
real  value  of  all  their  fine  phrases,  and  I  am  not  sorry  to  know  it 
also.  In  observing  their  futile  finesses,  I  seek  for  the  dupes  of 
falsehoods  so  puerile,  and  I  cry,  with  Basil,  "  Who  is  deceiving 
here  ?  All  the  world  is  in  the  secret." 

In  vain  do  the  Russians  talk  and  pretend  ;  every  honest  ob- 
server can  only  see  in  them  the  Greeks  of  the  Lower  Empire, 
formed,  in  accordance  with  the  rules  of  modern  strategy,  by  the 
Prussians  of  the  eighteenth  and  the  French  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 

The  popularity  of  an  autocrat  appears  to  me  as  suspicious  in 
Russia,  as  does  the  honesty  of  the  men  who  in  France  preach  ab- 
solute democracy  in  the  name  of  liberty, — both  are  murderous 
sophisms.  To  destroy  liberty  while  preaching  liberality  is  assas- 
sination, for  society  lives  by  truth  ;  to  make  tyranny  patriarchal 
is  assassination  also. 

I  have  one  fixed  political  principle  ;  it  is  that  men  can  and 
ought  to  be  governed  without  being  deceived  ;  if  in  private  life 
falsehood  is  degrading,  in  public  life  it  is  criminal ;  every  govern^ 
ment  that  lies  is  a  conspirator  more  dangerous  than  the  traitor 
whom  it  legally  condemns  to  capital  punishment ;  and — notwith- 
standing the  example  of  certain  great  minds  spoilt  by  an  age  of 
sophists — where  truth  is  renounced,  genius  forsakes  its  seat,  and, 
by  a  strange  reversion  of  things,  the  master  humbles  himself  be- 
fore the  slave  ;  for  the  man  who  deceives  is  below  the  victim  of 
deception.  This  is  as  applicable  to  politics  and  to  literature  as 
to  religion. 

My  idea  of  the  possibility  of  making  Christian  sincerity  sub- 
servient to  politics  is  not  so  chimerical  as  it  may  appear  to  men 
of  business ;  for  it  is  an  idea  of  the  Russian  Emperor's,  practi- 
cal and  clear-sighted  as  he  undoubtedly  is.  I  do  not  believe  that 


JOURNAL    DES    DEB ATS.  163 

there  is  at  the  present  day  a  prince  upon  any  throne  who  so  de- 
tests falsehood  and  who  falsifies  so  little  as  this  monarch.* 

He  has  made  himself  the  champion  of  monarchical  power  in 
Europe,  and,  it  is  well  known,  he  boldly  and  openly  maintains 
this  position.  He  is  not  seen,  as  is  a  certain  government,  preach- 
ing in  each  different  locality  a  different  policy,  according  to  vary- 
ing and  purely  commercial  local  interests  :  on  the  contrary,  he 
favours  every  where  indiscriminately  the  principles  which  accord 
with  his  system.  Is  it  thus  that  England  is  liberal,  constitution- 
al, and  philanthropic  ? 

The  Emperor  reads  daily,  from  one  end  to  the  other,  one 
French  newspaper,  and  only  one,  the  Journal  des  Debats.  He 
never  looks  at  the  others,  unless  some  interesting  article  is  pointed 
out  to  him. 

To  sustain  power  in  order  to  preserve  social  order,  is,  in 
France,  the  object  of  the  best  and  worthiest  minds  ;  it  is  also 
the  constant  aim  of  the  Journal  des  Debats,  an  aim  prosecuted 
with  an  intellectual  superiority  which  explains  the  consideration 
accorded  to  this  paper  in  our  own  country,  as  well  as  in  the  rest 
of  Europe. 

France  is  suffering  under  ihe  disease  common  to  the  age,  she 
is  suffering  from  it  more  than  any  other  land  ;  this  disease  is 
hatred  of  authority;  the  remedy,  therefore,  consists  in  fortify- 
ing authority ;  such  is  the  sentiment  of  the  Emperor  at  Peters- 
burg, and  of  the  Journal  des  Dtbats  at  Paris. 

But,  as  they  agree  only  in  regard  to  the  end  to  be  obtained, 
they  are  so  much  the  more  opposed  as  they  seem  to  be  united. 
The  choice  of  means  will  often  cause  dissension  among  those 
gathered  under  the  same  banner  :  they  meet  as  allies,  they  sepa- 
rate as  enemies. 

The  legitimacy  of  hereditary  right  appears  to  the  Emperor 
of  Russia  the  only  means  of  attaining  his  end ;  and  in  forcing  a 
little  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  old  word  "  legitimacy,"  under 
pretext  that  there  exists  another  more  sure — that,  namely,  of 
election  based  upon  the  true  interests  of  the  country, — the  Jour- 
nal des  Debats  raises  altar  against  altar  in  the  name  of  the  sal- 
vation of  society. 

From  the  contest  of  these  two  legitimacies,  one  of  which  is 
blind  as  fate,  the  other  wavering  as  passion,  results  an  anger  the 

*  If  the  author  had  written  his  Travels  more  recently,  he  could  hardly 
have  failed  to  modify  this  opinion. — Trans. 


164  PARK    OF    PETERHOFF. 

more  lively,  because  the  advocates  of  both  systems  lack  decisive 
reasons,  and  use  the  same  terms  to  arrive  at  opposite  conclusions. 

The  site  of  Peterhoff  is  the  most  beautiful  that  I  have  hith- 
erto seen  in  Russia.  A  ridge  of  small  elevation  commands  the 
sea,  which  borders  the  extremity  of  the  park  at  about  a  third  of 
a  league  from  the  palace  ;  the  latter  is  built  on  the  edge  of  this 
mount,  which  is  almost  perpendicular.  Magnificent  flights  of 
steps  have  been  formed,  by  which  you  descend  from  terrace  to 
terrace  into  the  park,  where  are  found  groves  of  great  extent 
and  beauty,  jets  d'eau,  and  artificial  cascades  in  the  taste  of  those 
at  Versailles,  and  structures  raised  on  certain  elevated  points, 
from  whence  may  be  seen  the  shores  of  Finland,  the  arsenal  of 
the  Russian  navy,  the  isle  of  Kronstadt,  and,  at  about  nine 
leagues  towards  the  right,  St.  Petersburg,  the  white  city,  which 
at  a  distance  looks  bright  and  lively,  and,  with  its  pointed-roofed 
palaces,  its  temples  of  plastered  columns,  its  forests  of  steeples 
that  resemble  minarets,  has  the  appearance  towards  evening  of  a 
wood  of  fir-trees,  whose  silver  tops  are  illuminated  by  the  ruddy 
glare  of  some  great  fire. 

There  is  but  little  variety  of  vegetation  in  the  scenery  of 
Ingria;  that  of  the  gardens  is  entirely  artificial,  that  of  the 
country  consists  of  a  few  clumps  of  birch  of  a  dull  green  foliage, 
and  of  avenues  of  the  same  tree  planted  as  limits  between  marshy 
meadows,  and  fields  where  no  wheat  grows,  for  what  can  grow 
under  the  sixtieth  degree  of  latitude  ? 

When  I  think  of  all  the  obstacles  which  men  have  here  con- 
quered in  order  to  exist  as  a  community,  to  build  a  city,  and  to 
maintain  in  it  all  the  magnificence  necessary  to  the  vanity  of 
great  princes  and  great  folks,  I  cannot  see  a  lettuce  or  a  rose 
without  being  tempted  to  exclaim — "  A  miracle  ! "  If  Peters- 
burg is  a  Lapland  in  stucco,  Peterhoff  is  the  palace  of  Armida 
under  glass.  I  can  scarcely  believe  in  the  real  existence  of  so 
many  costly,  delicate,  and  brilliant  objects,  when  I  recollect  that 
a  few  degrees  farther  north,  the  year  is  divided  into  a  day,  a 
night,  and  two  twilights,  of  three  months  each. 

One  may  ride  a  league  in  the  imperial  park  of  Peterhoff  with- 
out passing  twice  under  the  same  avenue :  imagine,  then,  such  a 
park  all  on  fire.  In  this  icy  and  gloomy  land  the  illuminations 
are  perfect  conflagrations  ;  it  might  be  said  that  the  night  was 
to  make  amends  for  the  day.  The  trees  disappear  under  a  de- 
coration of  diamonds,  in  each  alley  there  are  as  many  lamps  as 
leaves  ;  it  is  Asia,  not  the  real  modern  Asia,  but  the  fabulous 
Bagdad  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  or  the  more  fabulous  Babylon 
of  Semiramis. 


FKTK    IN    THE    PARK.  165 

It  is  said  that  on  the  Empress's  birthday  six  thousand  car- 
riages, thirty  thousand  pedestrians,  and  an  innumerable  quantity 
of  boats  leave  Petersburg  to  proceed  to,  and  form  encampments 
around,  Peterhoff. 

It  is  the  only  day  on  which  I  have  seen  a  real  crowd  in  Rus- 
sia. A  bivouac  of  citizens  in  a  country  altogether  military  is  a 
rarity.  Not  that  the  army  was  wanting  at  the  fete,  for  a  body 
of  guards  and  the  corps  of  cadets  were  both  cantoned  round  the 
residence  of  the  sovereign.  All  the  multitude  of  officers,  sol- 
diers, tradesmen,  serfs,  lords,  and  masters,  wandered  together 
among  the  woods,  where  night  was  chased  away  by  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  lamps.  Such  was  the  number  named  to  me  ; 
and  though  I  do  not  know  whether  it  was  correct  or  not,  I  do 
know  that  the  mass  of  fire  shed  an  artificial  light  far  exceeding  in 
clearness  that  of  the  northern  day.  In  Russia,  the  Emperor 
casts  the  sun  into  the  shade.  At  this  period  of  the  summer  the 
nights  recommence  and  rapidly  increase  in  length;  so  that,  with- 
out the  illumination,  it  would  have  been  dark  for  several  hours 
under  the  avenues  in  the  park  of  Peterhoff: 

It  is  said,  also,  that  in  thirty-five  minutes  all  the  lamps  of  the 
illuminations  in  the  park  were  lighted  by  eighteen  hundred  men. 
Opposite  the  front  of  the  palace,  and  proceeding  from  it  in  a 
straight  line  towards  the  sea,  is  a  canal,  the  surface  of  whose 
waters  was  so  covered  with  the  reflections  of  the  lights  upon  its 
borders,  as  to  produce  a  perspective  that  was  magical ;  it  might 
have  been  taken  for  a  sheet  of  fire.  Ariosto  would  perhaps  have 
had  imagination  brilliant  enough  to  describe  all  the  wonders  of 
this  illumination  :  to  the  various  groups  of  lamps,  which  were  dis- 
posed with  much  taste  and  fancy,  were  given  numerous  original 
forms  :  flowers  as  large  as  trees,  suns,  vases,  bowers  of  vine  leaves, 
obelisks,  pillars,  walls  chased  with  arabesque  work ;  in  short,  a 
world  of  fantastic  imagery  passed  before  the  eye,  and  one  gor- 
geous device  succeeded  another  with  inexpressible  rapidity. 

At  the  extremity  of  the  canal,  on  an  enormous  pyramid  of  fire 
(it  was,  I  believe,  70  feet  high),  stood  the  figure  of  the  Empress, 
shining  in  brilliant  white  above  all  the  red,  blue,  and  green 
lights  which  surrounded  it.  It  was  like  an  aigrette  of  diamonds 
circled  with  gems  of  all  hues.  Every  thing  was  on  so  large  a 
scale  that  the  mind  doubted  the  reality  which  the  eye  beheld. 
Such  efforts  for  an  annual  festival  appeared  incredible.  There 
was  something  as  extraordinary  in  the  episodes  to  which  it  gave 
rise,  as  in  the  fe"te  itself.  During  two  or  three  nights  all  the 
crowd  of  which  I  have  spoken  encamped  around  the  village. 


1(50  A  NIGHT'S   LODOIXIJ. 

Many  women  slept  in  their  carriages,  and  the  female  peasants  in 
their  carts.  These  conveyances,  crowded  together  by  hundreds, 
formed  camps  which  were  very  amusing  to  survey,  and  which 
presented  scenes  worthy  of  the  pencil  of  an  artist. 

The  Russian  has  a  genius  for  the  picturesque  ;  and  the  cities 
of  a  day  which  he  raises  for  his  festal  occasions,  are  more  amus- 
ing, and  have  a  much  more  national  character  than  the  real  cities 
built  in  Russia  by  foreigners.  The  painful  impression  I  have 
received  since  living  among  the  Russians,  increases  as  I  discover 
the  true  value  of  this  oppressed  people.  The  idea  of  what  they 
could  do  if  they  were  free,  heightens  the  anger  which  I  feel  in 
seeing  them  as  they  now  are. 

The  ambassadors  with  their  families  and  suites,  as  well  as  the 
strangers  who  have  been  presented,  are  boarded  and  lodged  at  the 
expense  of  the  Emperor.  For  this  object,  a  large  and  charming 
edifice,  called  the  English  palace,  is  reserved.  The  building  is  a 
quarter  of  a  league  from  the  Imperial  palace,  in  a  beautiful  park, 
laid  out  in  the  English  taste,  and  so  picturesque  that  it  appears 
natural.  The  beauty  of  the  waters,  and  the  undulations  of  the 
surface — undulations  rarely  seen  in  the  environs  of  Petersburg, 
— render  it  very  pleasant.  This  year,  the  number  of  foreigners 
being  greater  than  usual,  there  is  not  room  for  them  in  the  Eng- 
lish palace.  I  do  not  therefore  sleep  there,  but  I  dine  there  daily 
with  the  diplomatic  corps  and  seven  or  eight  hundred  other  indi- 
viduals, at  a  perfectly  well-served  table.  This  is  certainly  mag- 
nificent hospitality.  In  lodging  at  the  village,  it  is  necessary, 
after  dressing  in  uniform,  to  proceed  in  m.y  carriage,  in  order  to 
dine  at  this  table,  at  which  presides  one  of  the  great  officers  of 
the  empire. 

For  the  night,  the  director  general  of  the  theatres  of  the  court 
has  placed  at  my  disposal  two  actors'  boxes  in  the  theatre  of 
Peterhoif,  and  this  lodging  is  the  envy  of  every  one.*  It  lacks 
nothing  except  a  bed ;  and  fortunately  I  brought  my  little  iron 
couch  from  Petersburg.  It  is  an  indispensable  necessary  for  an 
European,  travelling  in  Russia,  who  does  not  wish  to  pass  the 
night  on  a  seat,  or  on  the  floor.  We  carry  our  beds  here  as  we 
would  our  cloaks  in  Spain.  For  want  of  straw,  which  is  a  rare 
thing  in  a  region  that  grows  no  wheat,  my  inattrdss  is  filled  with 
hay. 

In  any  other  country,  so  great  an  assemblage  of  people  would 

*  In  the  village  there  is  only  a  small  number  of  dirty  houses,  in  which 
the  rooms  are  let  at  the  rate  of  "from  200  to  500  rubles  per  night. 


HALL  AT  THE  IMPERIAL  PALACE.  167 

produce  overwhelming  noise  and  disturbance.  In  Russia,  every 
thing  passes  with  gravity,  every  thing  takes  the  character  of  a 
ceremony ;  to  see  so  many  young  persons  united  together  for 
their  pleasure,  or  for  that  of  others,  not  daring  either  to  laugh, 
to  sing,  to  quarrel,  to  play,  or  to  dance,  one  might  imagine  them 
a  troop  of  prisoners  about  to  proceed  to  their  destination.  What 
is  wanted  in  all  I  see  here  is  not,  assuredly,  grandeur  or  magnifi- 
cence, nor  even  taste  and  elegance  :  it  is  gaiety.  Gaiety  cannot 
be  compelled ;  on  the  contrary,  compulsion  makes  it  fly,  just  as 
the  line  and  the  level  destroy  the  picturesque  in  scenery.  I  see 
only  in  Russia  that  which  is  symmetrically  correct,  which  carries 
with  it  an  air  of  command  and  regulation  ;  but  that  which  would 
give  a  value  to  this  order,  variety,  from  whence  springs  harmony, 
is  here  unknown. 

The  soldiers  at  their  bivouac  are  subjected  to  a  more  severe 
discipline  than  in  their  barracks.  Such  rigour,  in  time  of  peace, 
in  the  open  field,  and  on  a  day  of  festival,  reminds  me  of  the 
remark  of  the  Grand  Duke  Constantino.  "  I  do  not  like  war,"  he 
said  :  "  it  spoils  the  soldiers,  dirties  their  uniforms,  and  destroys 
discipline." 

The  Prince  did  not  give  all  his  reasons  for  disliking  war,  as 
is  proved  by  his  conduct  in  Poland. 

On  the  day  of  the  ball  and  the  illumination,  we  repaired  to 
the  Imperial  palace  at  seven  o'clock.  The  courtiers,  the  ambas- 
sadors, the  invited  foreigners,  and  the  soi-disant  populace,  entered 
the  state  apartments,  without  any  prescribed  order.  All  the 
men,  except  the  moujiks,  who  wore  their  national  costume,  and 
the  citizens  who  were  robed  in  the  cafetan  carried  the  tabarro, 
or  Venetian  mantle  above  their  uniform,  which  was  a  strictly  en- 
forced regulation,  the  fete  being  called  a  masked  ball. 

We  remained  a  considerable  time,  much  pressed  by  the  crowd, 
waiting  for  the  appearance  of  the  Emperor  and  his  family.  As 
soon  as  this  sun  of  the  palace  began  to  rise,  the  space  opened 
before  him,  and,  followed  by  his  splendid  cortege,  he  proceeded, 
without  being  even  incommoded  by  the  crowd,  through  the  halls 
into  which,  the  moment  before,  you  might  have  supposed  another 
person  could  not  have  penetrated.  Wherever  His  Majesty  passed, 
the  waves  of  peasants  rolled  back,  closing  instantly  behind  him 
like  waters  in  a  vessel's  track. 

The  noble  aspect  of  the  monarch,  whose  head  rose  above  all 
heads,  awed  this  agitated  sea  into  respect.  It  reminded  me  of  the 
Neptune  of  Virgil ; — he  could  not  be  more  an  Emperor  than  he  is. 
He  danced,  during  two  or  three  successive  hours,  polonaises  with 


168  A    DISASTER    AT    THE    FKTK. 

the  ladies  of  his  family  and  court.  This  dance  was  on  former 
occasions  no  more  than  a  cadenced  and  ceremonious  march,  but 
on  the  present,  it  was  a  real  movement  to  the  sound  of  music. 

The  Emperor  and  his  cortege  wound,  in  a  surprising  manner, 
through  the  crowd,  which,  without  foreseeing  the  direction  he 
was  about  to  take,  always  gave  way  in  time,  so  as  never  to  incom- 
mode the  progress  of  the  monarch. 

He  spoke  to  several  of  the  men  robed  and  bearded  a  la 
Eusse :  at  length,  towards  ten  o'clock,  at  which  hour  it  became 
dark,  the  illuminations,  of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  com- 
menced. 

We  had  expected,  during  a  great  part  of  the  day,  that,  owing 
to  the  weather,  they  would  not  have  taken  place.  About  three 
o'clock,  while  at  dinner  in  the  English  palace,  a  squall  of  wind 
passed  over  Peterhoff,  violently  agitated  the  trees,  and  strewed 
the  park  with  their  branches.  While  coolly  watching  the  storm, 
we  little  thought  that  the  sisters,  mothers,  and  friends  of  crowds 
seated  at  the  same  table  with  us  were  perishing  on  the  water, 
under  its  terrible  agency.  Our  thoughtless  curiosity  was  approach- 
ing to  gaiety  at  the  very  moment  that  a  great  number  of  small 
vessels,  which  had  left  Petersburg  for  Peterhoff,  were  foundering 
in  the  gulf.  It  is  now  admitted  that  two  hundred  persons  were 
drowned :  others  say  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand :  no  one 
knows  the  truth,  and  the  journals  will  not  speak  of  the  occur- 
rence :  this  would  be  to  distress  the  Empress,  and  to  accuse  the 
Emperor. 

The  disaster  was  kept  a  secret  during  the  entire  evening, 
nothing  transpired  until  after  the  fete ;  and  this  morning  the 
court  neither  appeared  more  nor  less  sad  than  usual.  There, 
etiquette  forbids  to  speak  of  that  which  occupies  the  thoughts  of 
all ;  and  even  beyond  the  palace,  little  is  said.  The  life  of  man 
in  this  country  is  such  as  to  be  deemed  of  trifling  importance 
even  by  himself.  Each  one  feels  his  existence  to  hang  upon  a 
thread. 

Every  year,  accidents,  similar,  although  less  extensive,  cast  a 
gloom  over  the  fete  of  Peterhoff,  which  would  change  into  an  act 
of  deep  mourning,  a  solemn  funeral,  if  others,  like  me,  thought 
upon  all  that  this  magnificence  costs.  But  here,  I  am  the  only 
one  that  reflects.  Yesterday,  superstitious  minds  were  presented 
with  more  than  one  gloomy  prognostic.  The  weather,  which  had 
been  fine  for  three  weeks,  changed  upon  the  birthday  of  the  Em- 
press. The  image  of  that  princess  would  not  light  up.  The 
man  charged  with  superintending  this  essential  part  of  the  illumi- 


THE    EMPRESS.  109 

nation  ascended  to  the  summit  of  the  pyramid,  but  the  wind 
extinguished  his  lamps  as  quickly  as  he  lighted  them.  He  reas- 
cended  several  times ;  at  length  his  foot  slipped,  and  he  fell  from 
a  height  of  seventy  feet,  and  was  killed  on  the  spot. 

The  shocking  thinness  of  the  Empress,  her  air  of  languor, 
the  diminished  lustre  of  her  eye,  rendered  these  presages  the  more 
ominous.  Her  life,  like  a  disease,  may  be  said  to  be  mortal : 
f  Hes  and  balls  every  evening !  There  is  no  choice  here  but  that 
of  dying  of  amusement,  or  of  ennui. 

For  the  Empress,  as  well  as  the  zealous  courtiers,  the  spec- 
tacle of  parades  and  reviews  commences  early  in  the  morning. 
These  are  always  followed  by  some  receptions ;  the  Empress  then 
retires  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  after  which  she  rides  out  in  her 
carriage  for  two  hours.  She  next  takes  a  bath  before  again  going 
out  on  horseback.  Returned  a  second  time,  she  has  some  more 
visitors  to  receive :  this  over,  she  proceeds  to  inspect  certain 
useful  institutions  superintended  by  herself,  or  by  some  of  those 
honoured  with  her  intimacy.  From  thence  she  follows  the  Em- 
peror to  the  camp  :  there  being  always  one  somewhere  near.  They 
return  to  dance ;  and  thus  her  days,  her  years  and  her  life  are 
consumed. 

Those  who  have  not  the  courage  or  the  strength  necessary  to 
pursue  this  dreadful  life,  are  not  in  favour. 

The  Empress  said  to  me  the  other  day,  in  speaking  of  a  very 
distinguished  but  delicate  woman,  "  She  is  always  ill !  "  The 
tone  and  manner  in  which  this  was  spoken  convinced  me  that 
the  fate  of  a  family  was  decided.  In  a  sphere  where  good 
intentions  are  not  sufficient,  an  indisposition  is  equivalent  to  a 
disgrace. 

The  Empress  does  not  consider  herself  more  excused  than 
others  from  paying  her  personal  court.  She  cannot  for  a  moment 
bear  that  the  Emperor  should  leave  her.  Princes  are  made  of 
iron  !  This  high-minded  woman  wishes,  and  at  moments  believes, 
herself  to  be  free  from  human  infirmities ;  but  the  total  privation 
of  physical  and  mental  repose,  the  want  of  a  continuous  occupa- 
tion, the  absence  of  all  solid  conversation,  the  acquired  necessity 
of  excitement,  all  tend  to  nurse  a  fever  which  is  sapping  life. 
And  this  dreadful  mode  of  existence  has  become  as  indispensable 
as  it  is  fatal.  She  cannot  now  either  abandon  it  or  sustain  it. 
Atrophy  is  feared,  and,  above  all,  the  winter  of  Petersburg  is 
dreaded ;  but  nothing  can  induce  her  to  pass  six  months  away 
from  the  Emperor.* 

*  The  following  year,  the  waters  of  Ems  restored  the  health  of  the 
Km  press. 


170  THE    ILLUMINATIONS. 

While  observing  her  interesting  though  emaciated  figure  wan- 
dering like  a  spectre  through  a  scene  of  festivity  celebrated  in  her 
honour,  and  which  she  will  perhaps  never  witness  again,  my  heart 
sunk  within  me,  and,  dazzled  as  I  may  have  been  with  human 
pomp  and  grandeur,  I  turned  to  reflect  on  the  miseries  to  which 
our  nature  is  exposed.  Alas  !  the  loftier  the  height  from  which 
we  fall,  the  severer  is  the  shock.  The  great  expiate  in  one  day, 
even  in  this  world,  all  the  privations  that  the  poor  suffer  during  a 
long  life. 

The  inequality  of  conditions  disappears  under  the  levelling 
pressure  of  suffering.  Time  is  but  an  illusion,  which  passion  dis- 
pels. The  intensity  of  the  feeling,  whether  of  joy  or  of  grief,  is 
the  measure  of  the  reality. 

Persons,  even  of  the  highest  elevation,  act  unwisely  when  they 
pretend  to  amuse  themselves  on  any  fixed  day.  An  anniversary 
regularly  celebrated  only  aids  in  more  deeply  impressing  the  mind 
with  the  progress  of  time,  by  suggesting  comparisons  between  the 
present  and  the  past.  The  memories  of  the  past,  celebrated  with 
rejoicings,  always  inspire  us  with  a  crowd  of  melancholy  ideas, 
visions  of  vanished  early  youth,  and  prospects  of  declining  life. 
At  the  return  of  each  yearly  fete  we  have  ever  some  fewer  joys, 
some  increased  sorrows,  to  contemplate.  The  change  being  so 
sad.  were  it  not  better  to  let  the  days  fly  past  in  silence  ?  Anni- 
versaries are  the  plaintive  voices  of  the  tomb,  the  solemn  echoes 
of  time. 

Yesterday,  at  the  close  of  the  ball,  we  supped  ;  after  which, 
almost  melted,  for  the  heat  of  the  apartments  in  which  the  crowd 
was  gathered  was  insupportable,  we  entered  certain  carriages 
belonging  to  the  court,  called  lignes,  and  made  the  tour  of  the 
illuminations  ;  beyond  the  influence  of  which  the  night  was  very 
dark  and  cool.  The  incredible  profusion  of  lights  spread  over  the 
enchanted  forest,  produced  however  within  its  shades  an  extraor- 
dinary heat,  and  we  were  warmed  as  well  as  dazzled. 

The  lignes  are  a  species  of  carriage  with  double  seats,  on  which 
eight  persons  can  conveniently  sit,  back  to  back.  Their  shape, 
gilding,  and  the  antique  trappings  of  the  horses  impart  to  them 
an  air  of  grandeur  and  originality. 

Objects  of  luxury  impressed  with  a  really  royal  character  are 
now  rarely  seen  in  Europe. 

The  number  of  these  equipages  is  considerable.  They  form 
one  of  the  magnificent  displays  of  the  fete  of  Peterhoff.  There 
was  room  in  them  for  all  invited,  except  the  serfs  and  citizens. 

A  master  of  the  ceremonies  had  pointed  out  to  me  the  Jigne  in 


RUSSIAN    WOMEN.  l7l 

which  I  was  to  ride,  but  in  the  disorder  of  the  departure  no  one 
kept  his  place.  T  could  neither  find  my  servant  nor  my  cloak, 
and,  at  length,  was  obliged  to  mount  one  of  the  last  of  the  lignes, 
where  I  seated  myself  by  the  side  of  a  Russian  lady  who  had  not 
been  to  the  ball,  but  who  had  come  from  Petersburg  to  show  the 
illumination  to  her  daughters.  The  conversation  of  these  ladies, 
who  appeared  to  know  all  the  families  of  the  court,  was  frank,  in 
which  respect  it  differed  from  that  of  those  connected  with  the 
palace.  The  mother  immediately  commenced  conversing  with 
me  :  her  manners  had  that  facility  and  good  taste  about  them 
which  discovered  the  woman  of  rank.  I  recognised  in  her  con- 
versation, as  I  had  already  done  elsewhere,  that  when  the  Russian 
women  are  natural,  mildness  arid  indulgence  towards  others  is  not 
a  prominent  trait  in  their  character.  She  named  to  me  all  the 
persons  we  saw  passing  us  ;  for  in  this  procession  the  train  of 
lignes  often  divided  and  filed  before  each  other  at  the  crossings 
of  the  alleys. 

If  I  were  not  afraid  of  wearying  the  reader,  I  should  exhaust 
all  the  formulae  of  admiration  in  repeating  that  I  have  never  seen 
any  thing  so  extraordinary  as  this  illuminated  park  traversed  in 
solemn  silence  by  the  carriages  of  the  court,  in  the  midst  of  a 
crowd  as  dense  as  was  that  of  the  peasants  in  the  saloons  of  the 
palace  a  tew  minutes  before. 

We  rode  for  about  an  hour  among  enchanted  groves,  and  made 
the  tour  of  a  lake  situated  at  the  extremity  of  the  park,  and  called 
the  lake  of  Marly.  Versailles  and  all  the  magical  creations  of 
Louis  XIV.  haunted  the  imagination  of  the  princes  of  Europe  for 
more  than  a  hundred  years.  It  was  at  this  lake  of  Marly  that  the 
illuminations  appeared  to  me  the  most  extraordinary.  At  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  piece  of  water, — I  was  going  to  say  the  piece  of 
gold,  so  luminous  and  brilliant  did  it  appear, — stands  a  house 
which  was  the  residence  of  Peter  the  Great,  and  which  was  illu- 
minated like  the  others.  The  water  and  the  trees  added  singularly 
to  the  effect  of  the  lights.  We  passed  before  grottoes,  whose 
radiant  interior  was  seen  through  a  cascade  of  water  falling  over 
the  mouth  of  the  brilliant  cavern.  The  Imperial  palace  only  was 
not  illuminated,  but  its  white  walls  were  rendered  brilliant  by  the 
immense  masses  of  light  reflected  upon  them  from  all  parts  of  the 
park. 

This  ride  was  unquestionably  tho  most  interesting  feature  in  the 
f,  te  of  the  Empress.  But  I  again  repeat,  scenes  of  magic  splen- 
dour do  not  constitute  scenes  of  gaiety.  No  one  laughed,  sung,  or 
danced ;  they  all  spoke  low ;  they  amused  themselves  with  precau- 


172  REVIEW  OF  THE  CORPS  OF  CADETS. 

tion ;  it  seemed  as  though  the  Russian  subjects  were  so  broken  in 
to  politeness  as  to  be  respectful  even  to  their  pleasures.  In  short, 
liberty  was  wanting  at  Peterhoff,  as  it  is  every  where  else  in 
Russia. 

I  reached  my  chamber,  or  rather  my  box,  after  midnight.  From 
that  time,  the  retreat  of  the  spectators  commenced,  and  while  the 
torrent  swept  under  my  window,  I  sat  down  to  write,  for  sleep 
would  have  been  impossible  in  the  midst  of  so  much  uproar.  In 
this  country,  the  horses  alone  have  permission  to  make  a  noise. 
Conveyances  of  all  forms  and  sizes  thundered  along  amid  a  crowd 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  on  foot. 

It  was  natural  life  recommencing  after  the  constraint  of  a  royal 
fete.  One  might  have  supposed  them  prisoners  delivered  from 
their  chains.  The  people  of  the  road  were  no  longer  the  dis- 
ciplined crowd  of  the  park.  They  rushed  onwards  in  the  direction 
of  Petersburg  with  a  violence  and  a  rapidity  that  recalled  to  my 
mind  the  descriptions  of  the  retreat  from  Moscow.  Several  acci- 
dents on  the  road  aided  the  illusion. 

Scarcely  had  I  time  to  undress  and  throw  myself  on  my  bed, 
when  I  found  it  necessary  to  be  again  on  foot,  to  witness  the  review 
of  the  corps  of  cadets,  who  were  to  pass  before  the  Emperor. 

My  surprise  was  great  to  find  the  court  already  at  its  post ; 
the  women  in  their  morning  dresses,  the  men  in  their  coats  of 
office;  every  body  awaited  the  Emperor  at  the  place  of  rendezvous. 
The  desire  of  proving  themselves  zealous,  animated  this  em- 
broidered crowd,  who  all  showed  so  much  alacrity  that  it  seemed 
as  if  the  splendour  and  fatigues  of  the  night  had  weighed  only 
upon  me.  I  blushed  for  my  indolence,  and  felt  that  I  was  not 
born  to  make  a  good  Russian  courtier.  The  chain,  though  gilded, 
did  not  appear  to  me  the  less  heavy. 

I  had  but  just  time  to  make  my  way  through  the  crowd  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Empress,  and  had  not  yet  gained  my  place, 
when  the  Emperor  commenced  inspecting  the  ranks  of  his  infant 
officers,  while  the  Empress,  so  overcome  with  fatigue  the  previous 
evening,  waited  for  him  in  a  caleche  in  the  midst  of  the  square.  I 
felt  for  her,  but  the  extreme  exhaustion  under  which  she  had 
seemed  to  suffer  during  the  ball  had  disappeared.  My  pity, 
therefore,  turned  upon  myself,  and  I  saw  with  envy  the  oldest 
people  of  the  court  lightly  bearing  the  burden  which  I  found  so 
heavy.  Ambition  here  is  the  condition  of  life  :  without  its  arti- 
ficial stimulus  the  people  would  be  always  dull  and  gloomy.  The 
Emperor's  own  voice  directed  the  manoeuvres  of  the  pupils.  After 
several  had  besn  perfectly  well  executed,  His  Majesty  appeared 


COTTAGE    OF    PETEEHOFF.  173 

satisfied.  He  took  the  hand  of  one  of  the  youngest  of  the  cadets, 
led  him  forth  from  the  ranks  to  the  Empress,  and  then,  raising 
the  child  in  his  arms,  to  the  height  of  his  head,  that  is,  above  the 
head  of  every  body  else,  he  kissed  him  publicly.  What  object  had 
the  Emperor  in  showing  himself  so  good-natured  on  this  day, 
before  the  public  ?  This  they  either  could  not  or  would  not  tell 
me. 

I  asked  the  people  around  me  who  was  the  happy  father  of  the 
model  cadet,  thus  caressed  by  the  sovereign  :  no  one  satisfied  my 
curiosity.  In  Russia  every  thing  is  turned  into  mystery.  After 
this  sentimental  parade,  the  Emperor  and  Empress  returned  to 
the  Palace  of  Peterhoff,  where  they  received  in  the  state  apart- 
ments such  as  wished  to  pay  their  court.  Afterwards,  at  about 
eleven  o'clock,  they  appeared  on  one  of  the  balconies  of  the  palace, 
before  which  the  soldiers  of  the  Circassian  guard,  mounted  on 
their  superb  Asiatic  horses,  went  through  some  interesting  exer- 
cises. The  beauty  of  this  gorgeously  clad  troop  adds  to  the 
military  luxury  of  a  court  which,  notwithstanding  its  efforts  and 
pretensions,  is,  and  for  a  long  time  will  remain,  more  Oriental 
than  European.  Towards  noon,  feeling  my  curiosity  exhausted, 
and  not  possessing  the  all-powerful  stimulus  of  that  court  ambition 
which  here  achieves  so  many  miracles  to  supply  my  natural  forces, 
I  returned  to  my  bed,  from  whence  I  have  just  risen  to  finish  this 
recital. 

I  purpose  remaining  here  the  rest  of  the  day,  in  order  to  let 
the  crowd  pass  by ;  and  I  am  also  detained  at  Peterhoff  by  the 
hope  of  a  pleasure  to  which  I  attach  some  value. 

To-morrow,  if  I  have  time,  I  will  relate  the  success  of  my 
machinations. 


CHAPTER  XIV.* 

Cottage  of  PeterhofT— A  Surprise.— The  Empress.— Her  Dress,  Manners,  and  Conversation. 
— The  Hereditary  Grand-Duke.— An  embarrassing  Question —Interior  of  the  Cottage.— 
The  Grand-Duke  acts  as  Cicerone.— The  Prince  and  the  Young  Lady. — Cahinet  of  the 
Emperor.— Castle  of  Oranienbaum  —  Fortress  of  Peter  III.— Summer  Houses  of  the 
Empress  Catherine.— The  Camp  of  Kras  Nacselo. 

I  HAD  earnestly  begged  Madame to  procure  for  me  admission 

to  the  English  cottage  of  the  Imperial  family.     It  is  a  small  house 

*  Written  at  Petersburg. 


174  A    SURPRISE. 

which  they  have  built  in  the  midst  of  the  noble  park  of  Peterhoff, 
in  the  new  Gothic  style  so  much  in  vogue  in  England.  u  Nothing 

is  more  difficult  than  to  enter  the  cottage,"  replied  Madame , 

"  during  the  time  that  their  Majesties  remain  there,  and  nothing 
would  be  more  easy  in  their  absence.  However,  I  will  try." 

I  therefore  prolonged  my  stay  at  Peterhoff,  waiting,  with  some 
impatience,  but  without  much  hope,  for  the  answer  of  Madame 

.  Yesterday  morning  early  I  received  a  little  note  from 

her,  thus  worded,  u  Let  me  see  you  at  a  quarter  before  eleven.  I 
am  permitted,  as  a  very  particular  favour,  to  show  you  the  cot- 
tage at  the  hour  when  the  Emperor  and  Empress  take  their  walk ; 
that  is  at  eleven  o'clock  precisely.  You  know  their  punctuality." 

I  did  not  fail  to  keep  the  appointment.  Madame resides  in 

a  very  pretty  mansion,  built  in  a  corner  of  the  park.  She  follows 
the  Empress  every  where,  but  she  occupies,  when  possible,  some 
separate  house,  although  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  different 
Imperial  residences.  I  was  with  her  at  half  past  ten.  At  a 
quarter  before  eleven,  we  entered  a  carriage  and  four,  crossed  the 
park  rapidly,  and  in  a  few  minutes  arrived  at  the  gate  of  the 
cottage. 

It  is,  as  I  have  said,  quite  an  English  residence,  surrounded 
with  flowers,  shaded  with  trees,  and  built  in  the  style  of  the 
prettiest  places  that  may  be  seen  near  London,  about  Twicken- 
ham, on  the  borders  of  the  Thames.  We  crossed  a  rather  small 
vestibule  raised  a  few  steps,  and  had  just  stopped  to  examine  a 
room,  the  furniture  of  which  struck  me  as  a  little  too  recherche 
for  the  general  character  of  the  building,  when  a  valet  de  cliambre 

came  to  whisper  a  few  words  in  the  ear  of  Madame ,  who 

seemed  surprised. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  I  asked,  when  the  man  had  disap- 
peared. 

"  The  Empress  is  returned !  " 

"  How  unfair  !  "  I  exclaimed  :  "  I  shall  not  have  time  to  see 
any  thing." 

"  Perhaps  not ;  go  down  into  the  garden  by  this  terrace,  and 
wait  for  me  at  the  entrance  of  the  house." 

I  was  scarcely  there  two  minutes  before  I  saw  the  Empress 
rapidly  descending  the  steps  of  the  house  and  coming  towards  me. 
Sac  was  alone.  Her  tall  and  slender  ligure  possesses  a  singular 
grace ;  her  walk  is  active,  light,  and  yet  noble ;  she  has  certain 
movements  of  the  arms  and  hands,  certain  attitudes,  a  certain  turn 
of  the  head,  which  it  is  impossible  to  forget.  She  was  dressed  in 
white ;  her  face,  surrounded  by  a  white  calash,  appeared  calm  and 


TASTE    OF    THE    EMPEROR.  1*75 

composed ;  her  eyes  had  an  expression  of  gentleness  and  me- 
lancholy ;  a  veil,  gracefully  thrown  back,  shaded  her  features ;  a 
transparent  scarf  fell  over  her  shoulders,  and  completed  the  most 
elegant  of  morning  dresses.  Never  had  I  seen  her  to  so  much 
advantage.  Before  this  apparition  the  sinister  omens  of  the  ball 
disappeared  ;  the  Empress  seemed  resuscitated,  and  I  experienced, 
in  beholding  her,  that  sense  of  security  which,  after  a  night  of 
trouble  and  agitation,  returns  with  the  dawn  of  day.  Her  Ma- 
jesty must,  I  thought,  be  stronger  than  I,  to  have  thus  supported 
the  fetes  of  the  day  before  yesterday,  the  review  and  the  soiree  of 
yesterday,  and  to  appear  to-day  so  well  and  beautiful. 

"  I  have  shortened  my  promenade,"  she  said,  "  because  I  knew 
that  you  were  here." 

"  I  was  far,  Madame,  from  expecting  so  much  kindness." 

"  I  said  nothing  of  my  project  to  Madame ,  who  has  been 

scolding  me  for  thus  coming  to  surprise  you ;  she  pretends  that  I 
shall  disturb  you  in  your  survey.  You  expect  then  to  discover 
all  our  secrets  ?  " 

"  I  should  like,  Madame ;  one  could  not  but  gain  by  acquaint- 
ance with  the  ideas  of  those  who  know  so  well  how  to  choose 
between  splendour  and  elegance." 

"  The  residence  at  Peterhoff  is  insupportable  to  me,  and  it  is 
to  relieve  my  eyes  from  the  glare  of  all  that  massive  gold,  that  I 
have  begged  a  cottage  of  the  Emperor.  I  have  never  been  so 
happy  as  in  this  house ;  but  now  that  one  of  my  daughters  is 
married,  and  that  my  sons  pursue  their  studies  elsewhere,  it  has 
become  too  large  for  us." 

I  smiled  without  replying  :  I  was  under  a  charm  :  it  seemed 
to  me  that  this  woman,  so  different  from  her  in  whose  honour 
was  given  the  sumptuous  fete  that  had  just  taken  place,  could 
share  with  me  all  my  impressions ;  she  has  felt  like  me,  I  thought, 
the  weariness,  the  emptiness,  the  false  brilliancy  of  public  mag- 
nificence, and  she  now  feels  that  she  is  worthy  of  something  bet- 
ter. I  compared  the  flowers  of  the  cottage  with  the  lustres  of 
the  palace,  the  sun  of  the  bright  morning  to  the  illuminations  of 
a  night  of  ceremony,  the  silence  of  a  delicious  retreat  to  the 
tumult  of  a  palace  crowd,  the  festival  of  nature  to  the  festival 
of  a  court,  the  woman  to  the  Empress  ;  and  I  was  enchanted  with 
the  good  taste  and  the  sense  which  this  princess  had  shown  in 
fleeing  the  satieties  of  public  display,  to  surround  herself  with  all 
that  constitutes  the  charm  of  private  life.  It  was  a  new  fairy 
scene,  the  illusion  of  which  captivated  my  imagination  much  more 
strongly  than  the  magic  of  splendour  and  power. 


176  AN    EMBARRASSING    QUESTION. 

"  I  would  not  explain  myself  to  Madame ,"  continued  the 

Empress.  "  You  shall  see  all  over  the  cottage,  and  my  son  shall 
show  it  you.  Meanwhile,  I  will  go  and  visit  my  flowers,  and  will 
find  you  again  before  we  allow  you  to  leave." 

Such  was  the  reception  I  met  with  from  this  lady,  who  is 
represented  as  haughty,  not  only  in  Europe,  where  she  is  scarcely 
known,  but  in  Russia,  where  they  see  her  constantly. 

At  this  moment,  the  hereditary  Grand-duke  joined  his  mother. 

He  was  accompanied  by  Madame ,  and  her  eldest  daughter, 

a  young  person  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  fresh  as  a  rose,  and 
pretty  as  they  were  in  France,  in  the  times  of  Boucher.  This 
young  lady  is  the  living  model  of  one  of  the  most  agreeable  por- 
traits of  that  painter. 

I  expected  the  Empress  to  give  me  my  cong£,  but  she  com- 
menced walking  backwards  and  forwards  before  the  house.  Her 

Majesty  knew  the  interest  I  took  in  all  the  family  of  Madame . 

who  is   a  Polish  lady.     Her  Majesty  knew  also  that  for  some 

years  past  one  of  the  brothers  of  Madame had  lived  at  Paris. 

She  turned  the  conversation  to  this  young  man's  mode  of  life; 
and  questioned  me  for  a  long  time  with  marked  interest,  regard- 
ing his  sentiments,  opinions,  and  general  character.  This  gave 
me  every  facility  for  saying  of  him  all  that  my  attachment  dic- 
tated. She  listened  to  me  very  attentively.  When  I  had  ceased 
speaking,  the  Grand-duke,  addressing  his  mother,  continued  the 
same  subject,  and  said,  "  I  met  him  at  Ems,  and  liked  him  very 
well." 

"  And  yet,  it  is  a  man  thus  distinguished  whom  they  forbid  to 
come  here,  because  he  retired  into  Germany  after  the  revolution 

in  Poland,"  cried  Madame ,  moved  by  her  sisterly  affection, 

and  using  that  freedom  of  expression  of  which  the  habit  of  living 
at  court  from  her  infancy  has  not  deprived  her.  "  But  what  has 
he  done  then  ?  "  said  the  Empress,  addressing  me,  with  an  accent 
that  was  inimitable  for  the  mixture  of  impatience  and  kindness 
which  it  expressed.  I  was  embarrassed  to  find  an  answer  to 
a  question  so  direct,  for  it  involved  the  delicate  subject  of  politics, 
and  to  touch  upon  that  subject  might  spoil  every  thing. 

The  Grand- duke  came  to  my  aid  with  an  affability  and  a  kind- 
ness which  I  should  be  very  ungrateful  to  forget ;  no  doubt  he 
thought  I  had  too  much  to  say  to  dare  to  answer  ;  and  anticipat- 
ing some  evasion  which  might  have  betrayed  my  embarrassment, 
and  compromise  the  cause  I  desired  to  plead,  "  My  mother,"  he 
said  with  vivacity,  "  who  ever  asked  a  child  of  fifteen  years  what 
he  had  done  in  politics  ?  " 


INTERIOR    OF    THE    COTTAGE.  177 

This  answer,  full  of  sense  and  good  feeling,  extricated  me 
from  the  difficulty,  but  it  put  an  end  to  the  conversation.  If  I 
might  dare  to  interpret  the  silence  of  the  Empress,  I  should  say 
that  this  was  her  thought — "  What  could  now  be  done,  in  Russia, 
with  a  pardoned  Pole  ?  He  would  always  be  an  object  of  envy 
to  the  old  Russians,  and  he  would  only  inspire  his  new  masters 
with  distrust.  His  health  and  life  would  be  lost  in  the  trials  to 
which  he  would  have  to  be  expose  in  order  to  test  his  fidelity ; 
and  if,  at  length,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  might  be 
trusted,  they  would  only  despise  him.  Besides,  what  could  /do 
for  this  young  man,  I  have  so  little  influence  ! " 

I  do  not  believe  I  much  deceive  myself  in  saying,  that  such 
were  the  thoughts  of  the  Empress ;  such  were  also  pretty  nearly 
mine.  We  tacitly  agreed  in  concluding  that,  of  two  evils,  the 
least  for  a  gentleman  who  had  lost  both  his  fellow-citizens  and 
his  comrades  in  arms,  was  to  remain  far  from  the  land  which  had 
given  him  birth  :  the  worst  of  all  conditions  would  be  that  of  a 
man  who  should  live  as  a  stranger  in  his  own  home. 

On  a  sign  from  the  Empress,  the  Grand  Duke,  Madame , 

her  daughter,  and  myself  re-entered  the  cottage.  I  could  have 
wished  to  have  found  less  luxurious  furniture  in  this  house,  and 
a  greater  number  of  objects  of  vertu.  The  ground-floor  re- 
sembled that  of  all  the  houses  of  rich  and  elegant  English 
people,  but  not  one  picture  of  a  high  order,  not  one  fragment  of 
marble,  or  of  terra  cotf.a,  announced  that  the  owners  of  the  place 
had  a  love  for  the  arts.  It  is  not  the  being  able  to  draw  more 
or  less  skilfully,  but  it  is  the  taste  for  chefs  d'&uvre  that  proves 
a  love  for,  and  a  judgment  in  the  arts.  I  always  regret  to  see 
the  absence  of  this  passion  in  those  with  whom  it  could  be  so 
easily  gratified. 

It  may  be  said  that  statues  and  pictures  of  great  value  would 
be  out  of  place  in  a  cottage;  but  this  house  is  the  chosen  and 
favourite  resort  of  its  possessors;  and  when  people  form  for 
themselves  an  abode  according  to  their  fancy,  if  they  have  much 
love  for  the  arts,  that  love  will  betray  itself,  at  the  risk  even  of 
some  incongruity  of  style,  some  fault  of  harmony  :  besides,  a 
little  anomaly  is  allowable  in  an  Imperial  cottage.  Over  the 
distribution  of  the  ornaments  of  the  cottage,  and  the  general 
arrangements  of  its  interior,  it  could  be  easily  discovered  that 
family  aifections  and  habits  had  chiefly  presided  ;  and  these  arc 
worth  even  yet  more  than  an  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  in  the 
works  of  genius.  Only  one  thing  really  displeased  me  in  the 
furniture  and  the  arrangements  of  this  elegant  retreat,  and  that 
was  ;i  too  servile  adherence  to  English  fashions.. 


178  THE  PRINCE  AND  THE  YOUNG  LADY. 

We  looked  over  the  ground-floor  very  hastily,  for  fear  of 
wearying  our  guide.  The  presence  of  so  august  a  cicerone  em- 
barrassed me.  I  know  that  nothing  so  annoys  princes  as  our 
timidity  ;  at  least,  unless  it  be  affected  in  order  to  flatter  them. 
They  love  to  be  put  at  their  ease,  and  we  cannot  do  that  without 
being  at  ease  ourselves.  With  a  grave  prince,  I  could  have 
hoped  to  save  myself  by  conversation,  but  with  a  gay  and  youth- 
ful prince,  I  was  left  without  resource. 

A  staircase,  very  narrow,  but  adorned  with  an  English  carpet, 
conducted  us  to  the  upper  floor.  We  there  saw  the  chamber 
where  the  Grand-duchess  Maria  passed  a  part  of  her  infancy ;  it 
is  empty :  that  of  the  Grand-duchess  Olga  will  probably  not  re- 
main long  occupied.  The  Empress  might  truly  say  that  the 
cottage  was  becoming  too  large.  These  two  very  similar  cham- 
bers are  furnished  with  a  charming  simplicity. 

The  Grand-duke  stopped  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  and  said, 
with  that  perfect  politeness  of  which  (notwithstanding  his  extreme 
youth)  he  possesses  the  secret, — "  I  am  sure  that  you  would 
rather  see  every  thing  here  without  me ;  and  I  have  seen  it  all  so 
often,  that  I  would,  I  confess,  as  willingly  leave  you  to  finish 

your  survey  with  Madame .  I  will  therefore  join  my  mother, 

and  wait  for  you  with  her. 

Whereupon  he  saluted  us  gracefully,  and  left  me,  charmed 
with  the  flattering  ease  of  his  manners.  It  is  a  great  advantage 
to  a  prince  to  be  really  well  bred.  I  had  not,  then,  this  time, 
produced  the  effect  that  I  anticipated ;  the  constraint  that  I  felt 
had  not  been  communicated.  If  he  had  sympathised  with  my 
uneasiness,  he  would  have  remained,  for  timidity  can  do  nothing 
but  submit  to  its  torture;  it  knows  not  how  to  free  itself;  no 
elevation  is  safe  from  its  attacks ;  the  victim  whom  it  paralyses, 
in  whatever  rank  he  may  be  placed,  cannot  find  strength  either  to 
confront  or  to  fly  from  that  which  produces  his  discomfort. 

At  the  moment  when  the  Grand- duke  left  us.  Mademoiselle 

was  standing  behind  her  mother.  The  prince,  as  he  passed 

her,  stopped,  and  in  a  very  grave  but  rather  humorous  manner, 
made  her  a  profound  reverence,  without  speaking  a  word.  The 
young  lady,  perceiving  that  the  salutation  was  ironical,  remained 
in  a  respectful  attitude,  but  without  returning  the  obeisance.  I 
admired  this  little  expression  of  feeling,  which  appeared  to  me  to 
exhibit  an  exquisite  delicacy.  I  doubt  whether  at  the  Russian 
court,  any  woman  of  twenty-five  would  have  distinguished  her- 
self by  an  act  of  so  much  courage  ;  it  was  dictated  only  by  that 
innocence,  which  to  the  regard  due  to  social  prerogatives  knows 


CASTLE    OF    ORANIENBAUM.  1*79 

how  to  join  a  just  sentiment  of  its  own  dignity.     The  exhibition 
of  tact  did  not  pass  unperceived. 

"  Always  the  same !  "  said  the  Grand-duke,  as  he  turned 
away. 

They  had  been  children  together ;  a  difference  of  five  years 
in  age  had  not  prevented  them  from  often  playing  at  the  same 
games.  Such  familiarity  is  not  forgotten,  even  at  court.  The 
silent  scene  which  they  now  enacted  together  much  amused  me. 

My  peep  into  the  interior  of  the  Imperial  family  has  inter- 
ested me  extremely.  These  princes  must  be  nearly  approached 
in  order  to  be  appreciated.  They  are  made  to  be  at  the  head  of 
their  country ;  for  they  are  in  every  respect  superior  to  their 
people.  The  Imperial  family  is  the  object  the  most  worthy  of 
exciting  the  admiration  and  the  envy  of  foreigners  that  1  have 
seen  in  Russia. 

At  the  top  of  the  house  we  found  the  cabinet  of  the  Emperor. 
It  is  a  tolerably  large  and  very  simply  ornamented  library,  open- 
ing on  a  balcony  which  overlooks  the  sea.  Without  leaving  this 
watch-tower,  the  Emperor  can  give  his  orders  to  his  fleet.  For 
this  purpose  he  has  a  spy-glass,  a  speaking-trumpet,  and  a  little 
telegraph  which  he  can  work  himself. 

After  leaving  the  cottage,  I  proceeded  to  pay  a  hasty  visit  to 
Oranienbaum,  the  celebrated  residence  of  Catherine  II.,  built  by 
Menschikoff.  That  unfortunate  man  was  sent  to  Siberia  before 
he  had  completed  the  wonders  of  a  palace  deemed  too  royal  for 
a  minister. 

It  now  belongs  to  the  Grand-duchess  Helena,  sister-in-law  of 
the  present  Emperor.  Situated  two  or  three  leagues  from  Peter- 
hoff,  in  sight  of  the  sea,  and  on  a  continuation  of  the  same 
ridge  upon  which  is  built  the  Imperial  palace,  the  castle  of 
Oranienbaum,  although  constructed  of  wood,  is  an  imposing 
edifice.  Notwithstanding  the  imprudent  luxury  of  the  builder, 
and  the  greatness  of  the  personages  who  have,  after  him,  in- 
habited it,  it  is  not  remarkable  for  extent.  Terraces,  flights  of 
steps,  and  balconies  covered  with  orange-trees  and  flowering 
plants,  connect  the  house  with  the  park,  and  embellish  both  the 
one  and  the  other ;  but  the  architecture  itself  is  anything  but 
magnificent.  The  Grand-duchess  Helena  has  shown  here  the 
taste  which  presides  throughout  all  her  arrangements,  and  which 
has  made  Oranienbaum  a  charming  residence,  notwithstanding  the 
duluess  of  the  landscape,  and  the  besetting  memories  of  the 
scenes  formerly  enacted  there. 

On  leaving  the  palace  I  asked  permission  to  see  the  remains 


180  CAMP    OF    KRASNACSELO. 

of  the  small  but  strong  fortress  from  whence  they  obliged  Peter 
III.  to  come  forth,  and  then  carried  him  to  Ropscha,  where  he 
was  assassinated.  I  was  conducted  to  a  retired  hamlet,  where 
are  to  be  seen  dry  ditches,  broken  mounds,  and  heaps  of  stones, 
a  modern  ruin,  in  the  production  of  which  policy  has  had  more 
to  do  than  time.  But  the  enforced  silence,  the  purposely-created 
solitude,  which  reign  around  these  accursed  remains,  summon  up 
before  the  mind  precisely  what  is  sought  to  be  concealed  :  the 
official  lie  is  annulled  by  the  historic  fact.  History  is  a  magical 
mirror,  in  which  the  people  see,  after  the  death  of  men  who  were 
influential  in  public  affairs,  the  real,  unmasked  reflection  of  their 
faces.  Those  faces  have  passed  away,  but  their  images  remain 
engraved  on  this  inexorable  crystal.  Truth  cannot  be  buried 
with  the  dead.  It  rises  triumphant  above  the  fear  of  princes 
and  the  flattery  of  people,  always  powerless  when  they  endeavour 
to  stifle  the  cry  of  blood ;  and  it  finds  its  way  through  prisons, 
and  even  through  the  tomb,  especially  through  the  tomb  of  the 
great,  for  obscure  persons  succeed  better  than  princes  in  conceal- 
ing crimes  which  stain  their  memory.  If  I  had  not  known  that 
the  fortress  of  Peter  III.  had  been  demolished,  I  should  have 
guessed  it ;  but  what  astonishes  me,  in  seeing  the  wish  here  ex- 
hibited to  create  oblivion  of  the  past,  is  that  any  thing  connected 
with  it  should  be  preserved.  The  names  ought  to  be  destroyed 
as  well  as  the  walls.  It  was  not  sufficient  to  demolish  the  for- 
tress, they  should  have  also  razed  the  palace,  which  is  only  a 
quarter  of  a  league  distant.  Whoever  visits  Oranienbaum  in- 
quires, with  anxiety,  for  the  vestiges  of  the  prison  where  Peter 
III.  was  compelled  to  sign  the  voluntary  abdication,  which  be- 
came his  death-warrant, — for  the  sacrifice  once  obtained,  it  was 
necessary  to  prevent  his  revoking  it. 

In  looking  over  the  park  of  Oranienbaum,  which  is  large  and 
beautiful,  I  visited  several  of  the  summer-houses  which  were 
the  scenes  of  the  Empress's  amorous  assignations.  Some  of 
them  were  splendid  pavilions,  others  exhibited  bad  taste.  In 
general,  their  architecture  lacked  purity  of  style,  though  cer- 
tainly pure  enough  for  the  uses  to  which  the  goddess  of  the  place 
destined  them. 

I  returned  to  Peterhoff,  and  slept,  for  the  third  night,  in  the 
theatre.  This  morning,  in  returning  to  Petersburg,  I  took  the 
road  by  Krasnacselo,  where  a  large  camp  is  formed.  Forty  thou- 
sand men  of  the  Imperial  guard  are,  it  is  said,  lodged  there, 
under  tents,  or  dispersed  in  the  neighbouring  villages.  Others 
«ay  the  number  is  seventy  thousand.  In  Russia  every  one  im- 


RESPONSIBILITY    OF    THE    EMPEROR.  181 

poses  upon  me  his  own  estimate,  to  which  I  pay  little  attention, 
for  nothing  is  more  deceptive  than  these  statements.  They  serve 
to  show,  however,  the  importance  that  is  attached  to  leading  peo- 
ple astray.  Nations  rise  above  such  childish  stratagems  when 
they  pass  from  infancy  to  a  state  of  manhood. 

I  was  much  amused  with  viewing  the  variety  of  uniforms, 
and  with  comparing  the  expressive  and  savage  faces  of  these 
soldiers,  who  are  brought  from  every  part  of  the  empire.  Long 
lines  of  white  tents  glistened  in  the  sun,  on  a  surface  broken 
into  small  undulations  in  a  manner  that  produced  a  picturesque 
effect. 

I  am  constantly  regretting  the  insufficiency  of  words  to  describe 
certain  scenes  in  the  north,  and,  above  all,  certain  effects  of  light. 
A  few  strokes  of  the  pencil  would  give  a  better  idea  of  the  original 
aspect  of  this  melancholy  and  singular  land,  than  whole  volumes  of 
description. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Responsibility  of  the  Emperor. — Effects  of  the  Storm  at  Pe^erhofH — Death  of  two  English- 
men.— The  Mystery  in  which  all  Occurrences  are  enveloped. — A  Steam-boat  saved  by 
au  Englishman. — The  Busman  Police. — Disappearance  of  a  Femme  de-Chambre. — Polite- 
ness and  Brutality  uniiecl. — Cruelty  of  a  Feldjager.— Quarrel  amonsr  Work-people,  and 
revolting  Cruelty  of  the  Police.— The  Emperor  a~  Reformer.— The  Column  of  Alexander. 
— Reform  in  the  Language  of  the  Court. — The  Church  of  Saint  Isaac. — Its  Immensity. — 
Spirit  of  ihe  Greek  Religion.— Ita  Degradation. — Conversation  with  a  Frenchman. — A  Trav- 
elling Prison.— Insurrection  caused  by  a  Speech  of  the  Emperor's.— Bloody  Scenes  on  the 
Volga.— History  of  the  Poet  Pousckin.— His  Duel  and  Death.— Fate  of  his  ambitious 
Successor. 

ACCORDING  to  information  that  I  have  obtained  this  morning 
respecting  the  disaster  of  the  fete  of  Peterhoff,  its  extent  has 
exceeded  my  expectations.  But  we  shall  never  ascertain  the  exact 
circumstances  of  the  event.  Every  accident  here  is  treated  as 
an  affair  of  state :  it  is  God  who  has  failed  in  His  duty  to  the 
Emperor. 

Political  superstition,  which  is  the  soul  of  the  Muscovite  com- 
munity, exposes  its  chieftain  to  all  the  complaints  that  impotence 
may  bring  against  power,  that  earth  may  urge  against  Heaven. 
If  my  dog  is  hurt,  it  is  to  me  that  he  comes  for  the  cure  of  his 
wound ;  if  God  afflicts  the  Russians,  they  immediately  call  upon 
their  Czar.  This  prince,  who  is  responsible  for  nothing  in  politics, 
must  answer  for  every  thing  in  Providence :  a  natural  consequence 
of  man's  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  God.  A  man  who  allows 


182  DEATH    OF    TWO    ENGLISHMEN. 

himself  to  be  considered  as  more  than  a  mortal,  takes  upon  himself 
all  the  evil  that  Heaven  may  send  upon  earth,  during  his  reign. 
There  result  from  this  species  of  political  fanaticism,  a  suscepti- 
bility and  jealous  delicacy,  of  which  no  idea  can  be  formed  in  other 
lands.  Nevertheless,  the  secrecy  which  policy  believes  it  neces- 
sary to  maintain  on  the  subject  of  misfortunes  the  least  dependent 
upon  human  will,  fails  in  its  object,  inasmuch  as  it  leaves  the  field 
open  to  imagination.  Every  one  relates  the  same  transaction 
differently,  according  to  his  interest,  his  fears,  his  ambition,  or  his 
humour ;  according  to  his  situation  at  court,  or  his  position  in  the 
world.  Hence  it  is,  that  truth  in  Petersburg  is  an  imaginary 
thing,  just  as  it  has  become  in  France,  although  from  different 
causes'.  An  arbitrary  censorship  and  an  unlimited  liberty  may 
lead  to  the  same  results,  and  render  impossible  the  verification  of 
the  most  simple  fact. 

Thus,  some  say  there  were  only  thirty  persons  who  perished 
the  day  before  yesterday,  while  others  speak  of  twelve  hundred, 
others  of  two  thousand,  and  others  again  of  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
Imagine  the  uncertainty  in  \vhich  every  thing  must  be  involved 
when  the  circumstances  of  an  event  that  took  place,  as  it  were, 
under  our  eyes,  will  always  remain  unknown,  even  to  ourselves. 
I  shall  never  cease  to  marvel  at  having  seen  a  people  exist,  so 
thoughtless  as  readily  and  tranquilly  to  live  and  die  in  the  twi- 
light which  the  policy  of  its  masters  accords  it.  Hitherto  I  had 
been  accustomed  to  believe  that  man  could  no  more  dispense  with 
truth  for  his  mind  than  with  sun  and  air  for  his  body ;  but  my 
Russian  journey  has  undeceived  me.  Truth  is  only  needful  to 
elevated  minds  or  to  advanced  nations :  the  vulgar  accommodate 
themselves  to  the  falsehoods  favourable  to  their  passions  and 
habits  :  here,  to  lie,  is  to  protect  society  ;  to  speak  the  truth,  is  to 
overthrow  the  state.  The  twilight  of  politics  is  less  transparent 
than  the  polar  sky. 

For  the  authenticity  of  one  of  the  accidents  connected  with  the 
catastrophe  of  Peterhoff  I  can  vouch. 

Three  young  Englishmen,  the  eldest  of  whom  I  know,  had  been 
some  days  in  Petersburg.  Their  father  is  in  England,  and  their 
mother  awaits  them  at  Carlsbad.  On  the  day  of  the  fete,  the  two 
youngest  sailed  for  Peterhoff  without  their  brother,  who  constantly 
refused  their  solicitations  to  accompany  them,  alleging  that  he 
felt  no  curiosity.  He  saw  them  embark  in  their  little  vessel,  and 
bade  them  adieu  until  the  morrow.  Three  hours  afterwards,  both 
were  corpses !  They  perished,  together  with  several  women  and 
children,  and  two  or  three  men,  who  were  in  the  same  boat :  a 


RUSSIAN    MYSTERY.  183 

sailor,  who  was  a  good  swimmer,  was  alone  saved.  The  unhappy 
surviving  brother  is  plunged  in  a  despair  which  would  be  difficult 
to  describe.  He  is  preparing  to  leave,  to  join  his  mother,  and 
apprise  her  of  the  melancholy  tidings.  She  had  written  to  her 
sons  desiring  them  not  to  omit  seeing  the  fete  of  Peterhoff,  nor  to 
hurry  their  departure,  should  their  curiosity  incline  them  to  pro- 
long their  stay,  intimating  that  she  would  wait  patiently  for  them 
at  Carlsbad.  A  little  more  urgency  on  her  part  would  perhaps 
have  saved  their  lives. 

What  numberless  accounts,  discussions,  and  proposals  would 
not  such  a  catastrophe  have  given  rise  to  in  any  other  land  except 
this,  and  more  especially  in  our  own  !  How  many  newspapers 
would  have  said,  and  how  many  voices  would  have  repeated,  that 
the  police  never  does  its  duty,  that  the  boats  were  not  seaworthy, 
the  watermen  greedy  onlyfjjf  gain,  and  that  the  authorities,  far 
from  interfering  did  but  increase  the  danger  by  their  indifference 
or  their  corruption  !  It  would  have  been  added  that  the  marriage 
of  the  Grand-duchess  had  been  celebrated  under  very  gloomy 
auspices,  like  many  other  royal  marriages ;  and  then  dates,  allu- 
sions, and  citations  would  have  followed  in  great  abundance. 
Nothing  of  the  kind  here.  A  silence  more  frightful  than  the  evil 
itself  every  where  reigns.  Two  lines  in  the  Gazette,  without 
details,  is  all  the  information  publicly  given ;  and  at  court,  in  the 
city,  in  the  saloons  of  fashion,  not  a  word  is  spoken.  There  are 
no  coffee-houses  in  Petersburg  where  people  comment  upon  the 
journals :  there  are,  indeed,  no  journals  upon  which  to  comment. 
The  petty  employes  are  more  timid  than  the  great  lords ;  what  is 
not  dared  to  be  spoken  of  among  the  principals,  is  yet  more  care- 
fully avoided  by  subordinates;  and  as  to  the  merchants  and 
shopkeepers,  that  wily  caution  necessary  to  all  who  would  live  and 
thrive  in  the  land,  is  by  them  especially  observed.  If  they  speak 
on  grave,  and  therefore  dangerous  subjects,  it  is  only  in  strict  and 
confidential  privacy. 

Russia  is  instructed  to  say  nothing  which  could  render  the  Em- 
press nervous,  and  thus  is  she  left  to  live  and  die  dancing  !  "  She 
would  be  distressed,  therefore  hold  your  peace."  And  hereupon, 
children,  friends,  relations,  all  who  are  loved,  die,  and  no  one  dares 
even  to  weep  for  them.  People  here  are  too  unfortunate  to 
complain. 

The  Russians  are  all  courtiers.  Soldiers,  spies,  gaolers,  exe- 
cutioners, in  this  laud,  all  do  more  than  their  duty;  all  ply  their 
trade  as  parasites.  Who  shall  tell  me  to  what  lengths  a  society 
may  not  so  which  is  not  built  on  the  foundation  of  human  dignity  ? 


184  SAVING    OF    A    STEAM-BOAT. 

I  repeat  that  as  much  must  be  undone  as  done,  before  there 
can  be  here  made  a  people. 

On  the  present  occasion  the  silence  of  the  police  is  not  merely 
the  result  of  a  desire  to  natter,  it  is  also  the  effect  of  fear.  The 
slave  dreads  the  angry  mood  of  his  master,  and  employs  every 
effort  to  keep  him  in  a  state  of  benignity  and  good  humour.  The 
chain,  the  dungeon,  the  knout,  and  Siberia,  are  all  within  reach 
of  an  irritated  Czar;  or  at  the  best  there  is  the  Caucasus,  a  Siberia 
mitigated  to  the  uses  of  a  despotism  softened  in  accordance  with 
the  spirit  of  the  century. 

It  cannot  be  denied  that,  in  this  instance,  the  first  cause  of  the 
evil  was  the  carelessness  of  the  administration.  If  the  authorities 
had  prevented  the  boatmen  of  Petersburg  from  overloading  their 
vessels,  or  from  venturing  on  the  gulf  in  craft  too  small  or  weak 
to  ride  the  waves,  no  one  would  h&e  perished ;  and  yet,  who 
knows  ?  The  Russians  are  generally  bad  seamen :  wherever  they 
are,  there  is  danger.  When  Asiatics,  with  their  long  robes  and  , 
long  beards,  are  the  sailors,  there  can  be  little  surprise  at  hearing 
of  shipwrecks. 

On  the  day  of  the  fete,  one  of  the  steam-boats  that  generally 
run  between  Petersburg  and  Kronstadt,  started  for  Peterhoff. 
Although  large  and  strong,  it  was  in  danger  of  foundering  like  the 
smaller  vessels,  and  would  have  done  so  had  it  not  been  for  a 
foreigner  who  was  among  the  passengers.  This  man  (who  was  an 
Englishman)  seeing  several  vessels  capsized  around  them,  knowing 
the  danger  they  were  in,  and  observing,  further,  that  the  boat  was 
badly  served  and  badly  commanded,  conceived  the  happy  idea  of 
cutting  with  his  own  knife,  the  cords  which  held  the  awning 
raised  upon  deck  for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  passengers. 
The  first  thing  that  ought  to  have  been  done,  upon  the  least  sign 
of  a  squall,  was  to  remove  this  pavilion.  The  Russians  never 
dreamt  of  so  simple  a  precaution,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the 
foreigner's  presence  of  mind,  the  boat  would  have  infallibly  cap- 
sized. It  was  saved,  though  too  much  damaged  to  continue  the 
voyage,  and  its  crew  only  too  happy  in  being  able  to  return  to 
Petersburg.  If  the  Englishman  who  saved  it  had  not  been  an 
acquaintance  of  another  Englishman,  who  is  one  of  my  friends,  I 
should  not  have  known  the  fact.  It  was  confirmed  to  me  by  other 
informed  persons,  to  whom  I  mentioned  it,  but  they  requested  that 
I  would  keep  it  secret. 

It  would  not  do  to  talk  about  the  Deluge,  if  that  catastrophe 
had  happened  under  the  reign  of  a  Russian  emperor. 

Among  all  the  intelligent  faculties,  the  only  one  here  valued  is 


THE    RUSSIAN    POLICE.  185 

that  of  tact.  Imagine  a  whole  nation  bending  under  the  yoke  of 
this  drawing-room  virtue.  Picture  to  your  minds  an  entire  people 
prudent  as  a  diplomatist  who  has  yet  his  fortune  to  make,  and  you 
will  compass  the  idea  of  the  substance  and  worth  of  conversation 
in  Russia,  If  the  atmosphere  of  the  court  oppresses  us,  even 
when  at  the  court,  how  unfriendly  to  life  must  it  not  be  when  it 
pursues  us  into  the  very  retirement  of  the  family  circle ! 

Russia  is  a  nation  of  mutes.  Some  potent  magician  has  trans- 
formed sixty  millions  of  human  beings  into  automata,  who  must 
await  the  wand  of  another  enchanter  before  they  can  again  enjoy 
life.  Or  it  reminds  me  of  the  palace  of  Sleeping  Beauty  in  the 
Wood, — it  is  bright  and  magnificent,  but  it  lacks  one  thing, 
which  is  life,  or,  in  other  words,  liberty. 

The  Emperor  must  suffer  from  such  a  state  of  things.  Who- 
ever is  born  to  command,  no  doubt  loves  obedience ;  but  the 
obedience  of  a  man  is  worth  more  than  that  of  a  machine.  A 
prince  surrounded  by  complaisant  flatterers  must  always  remain 
in  ignorance  of  every  thing  which  it  is  wished  he  should  not 
know ;  he  is,  therefore,  necessarily  condemned  to  doubt  every 
word  and  to  distrust  every  individual.  Such  is  the  lot  of  an 
absolute  master.  In  vain  would  he  be  amiable,  in  vain  would  he 
live  as  a  man ;  the  force  of  circumstances  makes  him  unfeeling  in 
spite  of  himself;  he  occupies  the  place  of  a  despot,  and  is  obliged 
to  submit  to  a  despot's  destiny, — to  adopt  his  sentiments,  or,  at 
least  to  play  his  part. 

The  evils  of  dissimulation  extend  here  further  than  may  be 
imagined ;  the  Russian  police,  so  alert  to  torment  people,  is  slow 
to  help  or  enlighten  them  when  they  have  recourse  to  its  aid  in 
doubtful  situations. 

The  following  is  an  example  of  this  designed  inertia.  At  the 
last  carnival,  a  lady  of  my  acquaintance  had  permitted  her  wait- 
ing-woman to  go  out  on  the  Sunday.  Night  came,  and  she  did 
not  return.  On  the  following  morning,  the  lady,  very  uneasy, 
sent  to  obtain  information  from  the  police.* 

They  replied  that  no  accident  had  occurred  in  Petersburg  on 
the  preceding  night,  and  that  no  doubt  tho  femme-de-chambre  had 
lost  herself,  and  would  soon  return  safe  and  sound. 

The  day  passed  in  deceitful  security.  On  the  day  following,  a 
relation  of  the  girl's,  a  young  man  tolerably  versed  in  the  secrets 

*  I  have  been  obliged  to  conceal  names,  and  to  change  such  circumstan- 
ces as  might  allow  of  this  account  being  traced  to  individuals ;  but  the 
acts  are  essentially  preserved. 


186  DISAPPEARANCE    OF    A    FEMME-DE-CHAMBKE. 

of  the  police,  conceived  the  idea  of  going  to  the  Hall  of  Surgery 
to  which  one  of  his  friends  procured  him  an  admission.  Scarcely 
had  he  entered,  when  he  recognised  the  corpse  of  his  cousin,  which 
the  pupils  were  just  about  to  commence  dissecting.  Being  a  good 
Russian,  he  preserved  self-command  sufficient  to  conceal  his  emo- 
tion, and  asked, — "  Whose  body  is  this?" 

"  No  one  knows ;  it  is  that  of  a  girl  who  was  found  dead  the 

night  before  last,  in Street ;  it  is  believed  that  she  has  been 

strangled  in  attempting  to  defend  herself  against  men  who  en- 
deavoured to  violate  her." 

"  Who  are  the  men  ?  " 

"  We  do  not  know ;  one  can  only  form  conjectures  on  the  event ; 
proofs  are  wanting." 

"  How  did  you  obtain  the  body  ?  " 

"  The  police  sold  it  to  us  secretly;  so  we  will  not  talk  about 
it." 

This  last  is  a  common  expression  in  the  mouth  of  a  Russ,  or  an 
acclimated  foreigner.  I  admit  that  the  above  circumstances  are 
not  so  revolting  as  those  of  the  crime  of  Burke  *  in  Scotland  ;  but 
the  peculiar  characteristic  of  Russia  is  the  protective  silence  in 
which  similar  atrocities  are  shrouded. 

The  cousin  was  dead.  The  mistress  of  the  victim  dared  not 
complain  ;  and  now,  after  a  lapse  of  six  months,  I  am,  perhaps,  the 
only  person  to  whom  she  has  related  the  death  of  her  femme-de- 
cliambre. 

It  will  by  this  be  seen  how  the  subaltern  agents  of  the  Russian 
police  perform  their  duties.  These  faithless  servants  gained  a 
double  advantage  by  selling  the  body  of  the  murdered  woman : 
they  obtained  a  few  rubles,  and  they  also  concealed  the  murder, 
which  would  have  brought  upon  them  severe  blame,  if  the  noise  of 
the  event  had  got  abroad. 

Reprimands  addressed  to  men  of  this  class  are,  I  believe,  ac- 
companied with  other  demonstrations,  of  a  character  likely  to 
engrave  the  words  indelibly  on  the  memories  of  the  unfortunate 
hearers.  A  Russian  of  the  lower  class  is  as  often  beaten  as  sa- 
luted. The  lifting  of  the  rod  (in  Russia,  the  rod  is  a  large1  split 
cane),  and  the  lifting  of  the  hat,  are  means  employed  in  about 
equal  measure,  in  the  social  education  of  this  people.  Beating 
in  Russia  can  only  be  applied  to  certain  classes,  and  by  men  of 
certain  other  classes.  Here,  ill-treatment  is  regulated  like  the 
tariff  of  a  custom-house ;  it  reminds  us  of  the  code  of  Ivan.  The 

*  He  was  executed  at  Edinburgh  in  1828. — Trans. 


CRUELTY    OF    A    FELDJAGER.  187 

dignity  of  caste  is  admitted,  but  no  one  dreams  of  the  dignity 
of  man.  The  reader  will  recollect  what  I  have  already  said  of 
the  politeness  of  the  Russians  of  all  ranks,  and  of  its  real'  value  : 
I  will  now  confine  myself  to  relating  one  or  two  of  the  illustra- 
tive scenes  that  pass  daily  before  my  eyes. 

I  have  seen,  in  the  same  street,  two  drivers  of  droshkis  cere- 
moniously lift  their  hats  in  passing  each  other : — this  is  a  com- 
mon custom ;  if  acquainted,  they  lift  their  hand  to  their  mouth 
with  an  amicable  smile,  and  kiss  it,  making  at  the  same  time  a 
little  expressive  and  intelligent  sign  with  the  eyes.  So  much  for 
politeness. 

A  little  farther  on,  I  have  seen  a  courier,  a  feldjager,  or  some 
other  government  servant,  descend  from  his  vehicle,  and,  running 
to  one  of  these  well-bred  coachmen,  strike  him  brutally  and  un- 
mercifully with  whip,  stick,  or  fist,  in  the  breast,  the  face,  or  on 
the  head,  which  punishment  the  unlucky  wight,  who  had  not 
made  way  in  sufficient  haste,  received  without  the  least  complaint 
or  resistance,  out  of  respect  to  the  uniform  and  the  caste  of  his 
tormentor,  whose  anger,  however,  is  not  always  in  such  cases 
promptly  disarmed  by  the  submission  of  the  delinquent. 

I  have  seen  one  of  these  carriers  of  despatches,  the  courier 
of  some  minister,  or  the  valet-de-cfw^mbre  of  some  aide-de-camp 
of  the  Emperor's,  drag  from  his  seat  a  young  coachman,  and 
never  cease  striking  him  until  he  had  covered  his  face  with  blood. 
The  victim  submitted  to  the  torture  like  a  real  lamb,  without  the 
least  resistance,  and  in  the  same  manner  as  one  would  yield  to 
some  inevitable  commotion  of  nature.  The  passers-by  were  in 
no  degree  moved  or  excited  by  the  cruelty ;  and  one  of  the  com- 
rades of  the  sufferer,  who  was  watering  his  horses  a  few  steps  off, 
obedient  to  a  sign  of  the  enraged  feldjager,  approached  to  hold 
his  horse's  bridle  during  the  time  that  he  was  pleased  to  prolong 
the  punishment.  In  what  other  country  could  a  man  of  the  lower 
orders  be  found  who  would  assist  in  the  infliction  of  an  arbitrary 
punishment  upon  one  of  his  companions  ? 

The  scene  in  question  took  place  in  the  finest  part  of  the  city, 
and  at  the  busiest  hour.  When  the  unfortunate  man  was  re- 
leased, he  wiped  away  the  blood,  which  streamed  down  his  cheeks, 
remounted  his  seat,  and  recommenced  his  bows  and  salutations 
as  usual.  It  should  be  recollected  that  this  abomination  was 
enacted  in  the  midst  of  a  silent  crowd.  A  people  governed  in  ;i 
Christian  manner  would  protest  against  a  social  discipline  which 
destroys  all  individual  liberty.  But  here,  the  influence  of  the 
priest  is  confined  to  obtaining  from  the  people  and  the  nobles 
signs  of  the  cross  and  genuflexions. 


188  REVOLTING    CRUELTY    OF   THE    POLICE. 

Notwithstanding  its  worship  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  this  nation 
has  always  its  god  upon  earth.  Like  Tamerlane,  the  Emperor 
of  Russia  receives  the  idolatrous  worship  of  his  subjects ;  the 
Russian  law  has  never  been  baptized. 

I  hear  every  day  some  encomium  on  the  gentleness,  polite- 
ness, and  pacific  humour  of  the  people  of  Saint  Petersburg. 
Elsewhere,  I  should  admire  this  calm ;  here  I  can  only  view  it 
as  the  worst  symptom  of  the  evil  of  which  I  complain.  The 
people  are  actuated  by  fear  to  a  degree  that  urges  them  to  dis- 
simulate, and  to  assume  the  appearance  of  a  content  and  tran- 
quillity which  conduces  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  oppressor,  and 
the  security  of  the  oppressed.  Your  true  tyrant  likes  to  be  sur- 
rounded with  smiles.  Under  the  terror  which  hovers  over  all 
heads,  submission  becomes  the  general  rule  of  conduct ;  victims 
and  executioners,  all  practise  the  obedience  that  perpetuates  the 
evil  which  they  inflict  or  to  which  they  submit. 

The  intervention  of  the  police  between  people  who  quarrel 
would  expose  the  combatants  to  punishment  yet  more  formidable 
than  the  blows  they  bear  in  silence,  and  they  avoid  therefore  all 
noise  that  might  call  the  executioner  to  the  spot. 

Of  the  following  tumultuous  scene,  chance,  however,  rendered 
me  a  witness  this  morning  : — 

I  was  passing  along  a  canal  covered  with  boats  laden  with 
wood,  which  the  men  were  carrying  on  shore.  One  of  these 
porters  got  into  a  quarrel  with  his  comrades,  and  they  all  com- 
menced fighting,  as  they  might  have  done  among  ourselves  on 
a  similar  occasion.  The  aggressor,  finding  himself  the  weakest, 
took  to  flight :  he  climbed,  with  the  agility  of  a  squirrel,  a  large 
mast  of  the  vessel,  and  perching  himself  upon  a  yard,  set  at 
defiance  his  less  nimble  adversaries.  So  far  I  found  the  scene 
amusing.  The  men,  seeing  themselves  balked  in  their  hope  of 
vengeance,  and  forgetting  that  they  were  in  Russia,  manifested 
their  fury  by  loud  cries  and  savage  menaces.  There  are  found 
at  certain  distances,  in  all  the  streets  of  the  city,  agents  of  the 
police  in  uniform :  two  of  these  persons,  attracted  by  the  vocife- 
rations of  the  combatants,  repaired  to  the  scene  of  action,  and 
commanded  the  chief  offender  to  descend  from  his  perch.  This 
individual  did  not  obey  the  summons ;  one  of  the  policemen 
sprang  on  board ;  the  refractory  porter  clung  to  the  mast ;  the 
man  of  power  reiterated  his  commands,  and  the  rebel  persisted 
in  his  disobedience.  The  former,  infuriated,  tried  himself  to 
climb  the  mast,  and  succeeded  in  seizing  one  of  the  feet  of  the 
fugitive,  which,  without  troubling  himself  with  any  consideration 


REVOLTING    CRUELTY    OF    THE    POLICE.  189 

as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  unfortunate  being  was  to  descend, 
he  pulled  at  with  all  his  force.  The  other,  hopeless  of  escaping 
the  punishment  that  awaited  him,  at  length  yielded  to  his  fate ; 
he  let  go  his  hold,  and  fell  from  a  height  of  about  twelve  feet 
upon  a  pile  of  wood,  on  which  his  body  lay  as  motionless  as  a 
sack.  The  severity  of  the  fall  may  be  imagined.  The  head 
struck  against  the  wood,  and  the  sound  of  the  concussion  reached 
my  ear,  though  I  was  about  fifty  paces  off.  I  supposed  the  man 
was  dead ;  his  face  was  bathed  in  blood ;  nevertheless,  on  recov- 
ering from  the  first  stunning  effect  of  the  fall,  the  unfortunate 
savage,  thus  taken  in  the  snare,  rose ;  his  visage,  wherever  the 
blood  allowed  it  to  be  seen,  had  a  frightful  paleness,  and  he 
began  to  bellow  like  an  ox.  His  horrible  cries  diminished  my 
compassion ;  he  seemed  to  me  as  nothing  more  than  a  brute,  and 
I  could  not  therefore  feel  for  him  as  for  one  of  my  fellows.  The 
louder  the  man  howled,  the  harder  my  heart  grew;  so  true  it  is 
that  the  objects  of  our  compassion  must  exhibit  something  of 
their  proper  dignity,  ere  we  can  deeply  participate  in  their  trou- 
ble. Pity  is  a  sentiment  of  association,  and  who  would  mentally 
associate  with  that  which  he  despises  ?  They  at  length  carried 
him  off,  although  he  continued  to  offer  a  desperate  and  protracted 
resistance.  A  small  boat  was  brought  alongside  by  other  police 
agents ;  the  prisoner  was  bound  with  cords,  his  hands  were 
fastened  behind  his  back,  and  he  was  thrown  on  his  face  into  the 
boat.  This  second  rude  shock  was  followed  by  a  shower  of  blows, 
nor  did  the  torture  end  here ;  the  sergeant  who  had  seized  the 
victim,  no  sooner  saw  him  thus  prostrate,  than  he  jumped  upon 
his  body,  and  began  to  stamp  upon  him  with  all  his  force,  tramp- 
ling him  under  his  feet  as  the  grapes  are  trod  in  the  wine-press. 
I  had  then  approached  the  spot,  and  was  therefore  witness  of  all 
that  I  relate.  During  this  horrible  torture,  the  frightful  yells 
of  the  victim  were  at  first  redoubled,  but  when  they  began  to 
grow  fainter  and  fainter,  I  felt  that  I  could  no  longer  command 
myself,  and,  having  no  power  to  interfere,  I  hastened  away. 

What  most  disgusts  me  is  the  refined  elegance  which  is  ex- 
hibited in  the  same  picture  with  such  revolting  barbarity.  If 
there  were  less  luxury  and  delicacy  among  the  higher  orders,  the 
condition  of  the  lower  would  inspire  me  with  less  indignation. 
Such  occurrences,  with  all  that  they  involve,  would  make  me  hate 
the  most  delightful  country  in  the  world  ;  how  much  more,  then, 
a  heath  of  plaster — a  painted  marsh  ! 

"  What  exaggeration!  "  the  Russians  would  say  :  "  what  strong 
expressions,  for  so  trifling  a  matter  ! !  "  I  know  you  call  it  tri- 


190  UNCIVILISED    STATE    OF    TIIK    I'KOi'L::. 

fling,  and  it  is  for  that  I  reproach  you.  Your  familiarity  with 
these  horrors  explains  your  indifference  without  justifying  it :  you 
make  no  more  account  of  the  cords  with  which  you  bind  a  man, 
than  of  the  collar  which  you  put  on  your  dog. 

In  broad  daylight,  in  the  open  street,  to  beat  a  man  to  death 
before  he  is  tried,  appears  a  very  simple  matter  in  the  eyes  of  the 
public  and  of  the  constables  of  Petersburg.  Citizens,  lords,  and 
soldiers,  the  poor  and  the  rich,  the  great  and  the  small,  the  polite 
and  the  vulgar,  the  clowns  and  the  fops,  the  Russians  of  every 
class,  consent  to  let  such  things  quietly  go  on  in  their  presence, 
without  troubling  themselves  about  their  legality.  Elsewhere, 
the  citizen  is  protected  by  the  whole  community  against  the  agent 
of  unjust  power  ;  here  the  public  agent  is  protected  against  the 
just  accusations  of  the  injured  individual.  The  serf  never  ac- 
cuses. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  has  made  a  code  !  If  the  facts  I  have 
related  are  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  that  code,  so  much  the 
worse  for  the  legislator  ;  if  they  are  illegal,  so  much  the  worse  for 
the  administrator  of  the  law.  The  Emperor  is,  in  both  cases,  re- 
sponsible. What  a  misfortune  to  be  no  more  than  a  man  in  ac- 
cepting the  office  of  a.  god,  and  yet  to  be  forced  to  accept  it !  Abso- 
lute government  should  be  confided  only  to  angels. 

I  pledge  myself  to  the  accuracy  of  the  facts  that  are  here  re- 
lated. I  have  neither  added  nor  retrenched  one  circumstance  in 
the  recital,  and  I  recount  it  while  the  slightest  features  of  the 
scene  continue  present  to  my  mind.* 

If  such  details  could  be  published  at  Petersburg,  with  the  com- 
mentaries indispensable  to  make  them  noticed  by  minds  inured  to 
all  kinds  of  brutality  and  injustice,  they  would  not  effect  the  good 
that  might  be  expected.  The  Russian  administration  would  so 
order  matters,  that  the  police  of  Petersburg  should  henceforth 
seem  to  be  more  mild  in  its  treatment  of  the  people,  were  it  only 
out  of  respect  for  the  squeamish  sentiments  of  foreigners  ;  but 
this  would  be  all. 

The  manners  of  a  people  are  gradually  formed  by  the  recipro- 
cal action  of  the  laws  upon  the  customs,  and  of  the  customs  upon 
the  laws  ;  they  do  not  change  as  by  the  stroke  of  a  wand.  Those 
of  the  Russians,  in  spite  of  the  pretensions  of  these  half- savages, 
are,  and  will  yet  long  remain  cruel.  It  is  little  more  than  a  cen- 
tury since  they  were  true  Tartars  :  it  was  Peter  the  Great  who 

*  It  may  not  be  useless  to  repeat  that  this  chapter,  like  almost  all  the 
others,  was  preserved  and  concealed  with  care  during  my  sojourn  in  Ru=si:i. 


THE    EMPEROR    A    REFORMER.  191 

first  compelled  the  men  to  admit  females  into  their  social  meet- 
ings ;  and  under  all  their  modern  elegance,  several  of  these  par- 
venus of  civilisation  cannot  still  altogether  conceal  the  bear-skin. 

Seeing  that  they  can  now  no  longer  avail  themselves  of  the 
age  of  chivalry — that  age  by  whose  spirit  the  nations  of  western 
Europe  was  so  much  benefited  in  their  youth — all  that  can  remain 
for  the  Russians  is  an  independent  and  influential  religion.  Rus- 
sia has  a  faith,  but  a  political  faith  does  not  emancipate  the  hu- 
man mind  ;  it  shuts  it  up  in  the  narrow  circle  of  its  natural  inter- 
ests. With  the  Catholic  faith,  the  Russians  would  soon  acquire 
general  ideas,  based  on  a  rational  course  of  instruction,  and  on  a 
liberty  proportioned  to  their  state  of  enlightenment.  Could  they 
but  obtain  this  elevation,  I  am  persuaded  that  they  might  rule 
the  world.  The  evil  of  their  system  is  deeply  seated,  and  the  rem- 
edies hitherto  employed  have  only  acted  upon  the  surface — they 
have  healed  the  wound  over  without  curing  it.  A  genuine  civil- 
isation spreads  from  the  centre  to  the  circumference,  that  of  Rus- 
sia tends  from  the  circumference  towards  the  centre ;  it  is  a  bar- 
barism plastered  over,  and  nothing  more. 

Because  a  savage  may  have  the  vanity  of  a  votary  of  fashion, 
does  it  follow  that  his  mind  is  cultivated  ?  I  repeat,  and  may, 
perhaps,  repeat  again,  that  the  Russians  care  much  less  for  being 
civilised  than  for  making  us  believe  that  they  are  civilised.  So 
long  as  this  public  disease  of  vanity  shall  continue  to  prey  upon 
their  hearts  and  corrupt  their  minds,  they  will  have  certain  great 
lords  who  will  be  able  to  make  a  display  of  refinement,  both 
among  themselves  and  us ;  but  they  will  remain  barbarians  at 
heart.  Unfortunately,  however,  savages  understand  the  use  of 
fire-arms. 

The  endeavours  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  justify  my  views. 
He  has  thought,  before  I  did,  that  the  time  for  the  display  of  ap- 
pearances is  past  in  Russia,  and  that  the  entire  edifice  of  civilisa- 
tion in  that  land  has  to  be  reconstructed. 

Peter  the  Great  would  have  overthrown  it  a  second  time  in 
order  to  rebuild  it.  Nicholas  is  more  skilful.  I  am  filled  with 
respect  for  this  man,  who,  with  the  whole  energy  of  his  mind, 
struggles  in  secret  against  the  work  of  the  genius  of  Peter  the 
Great.  While  continuing  to  deify  that  mighty  reformer,  he  is, 
all  the  while,  bringing  back  to  their  proper  position  a  nation  led 
astray  among  the  paths  of  imitation  for  upwards  of  a  hundred 
years.  The  views  of  the  present  Emperor  manifest  themselves 
even  in  the  streets  of  Petersburg.  He  does  not  amuse  himself 
with  building,  in  haste,  colonnades  of  stuccoed  bricks  ;  he  is  every 


192  REFORM    OF    COURT    LANGUAGE. 

where  replacing  appearance  with  reality ;  stone  is  every  where 
superseding  plaster,  and  fabrics  of  a  strong  and  massive  architec- 
ture are  rising  above  the  showy  monuments  of  a  false  splendour. 
It  is  by  first  bringing  back  a  people  to  their  primitive  character, 
that  they  are  rendered  capable  and  worthy  of  true  civilisation, 
without  which  a  nation  cannot  know  how  to  work  for  posterity. 
If  a  people  would  rear  a  monument  to  their  own  power  and  great- 
ness, they  must  not  copy  foreigners, — they  must  study  to  devel- 
ope  the  national  genius  instead  of  thwarting  it.  That  which  in 
this  creation  most  nearly  approaches  to  Deity,  is  Nature.  Nature 
calls  the  Russians  to  great  things,  while  they,  under  their  preten- 
ded civilisation,  have  been  occupied  with  trifles.  The  Emperor 
Nicholas  has  appreciated  their  capabilities  better  than  his  prede- 
cessors, and  under  his  reign,  by  a  general  return  to  truth,  every 
thing  is  becoming  great.  In  Petersburg  stands  a  pillar,  which  is 
the  largest  piece  of  granite  that  has  ever  been  cut  by  the  hands 
of  man,  not  excepting  the  Egyptian  monuments.  Seventy  thou- 
sand soldiers,  the  court,  the  city,  and  the  surrounding  country, 
gathered  together,  without  inconvenience  or  pressure,  in  the  square 
of  the  Imperial  palace,  to  witness  in  a  religious  silence,  the  mirac- 
ulous erection  of  this  monument,  conceived,  executed,  and  placed 
by  a  Frenchman,  M.  de  Montferrand ;  for  the  French  are  still 
necessary  to  the  Russians.  The  prodigous  machines  worked  suc- 
cessfully, and  at  the  moment  when  the  column,  rising  from  its  fet- 
ters, lifted  itself  up  as  if  animated  with  a  life  of  its  own,  the  army, 
the  crowd,  the  Emperor  himself,  fell  on  their  knees  to  thank  God 
for  so  great  a  miracle,  and  to  praise  him  for  the  stupendous  achieve- 
ments which  he  permitted  them  to  accomplish.  This  I  call  a 
real  national  fete  ;  not  a  flattery  that  might,  like  the  masquerade 
of  Peterhoff,  have  been  also  taken  for  a  satire,  but  a  grand  his- 
torical picture.  The  great,  the  little,  the  bad,  the  sublime,  and 
all  other  opposites,  enter  into  the  constitution  of  this  singular 
country,  while  silence  perpetuates  the  prodigy,  and  prevents  the 
machine  from  breaking. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  extends  his  reforms  even  to  the 
language  of  those  who  surround  him ;  he  requires  Russian  to  be 
spoken  at  court.  The  greater  number  of  the  women  of  the  high- 
est circles,  especially  those  who  have  been  born  at  Petersburg, 
are  ignorant  of  their  native  language ;  but  they  learn  a  few  Rus- 
sian phrases,  which  they  utter  through  obedience  to  the  Emperor, 
when  he  passes  into  the  saloons  of  the  palace  where  their  duties 
may  retain  them.  One  of  them  acts  always  as  a  sentinel,  to  an- 
nounce to  the  others,  by  some  conventional  si^n,  the  arrival  of 


SPIRIT    OF    THE    GREEK    RELIGION.  193 

the  monarch,  on  whose  appearance  French  conversation  imme- 
diately ceases,  and  Russian  phrases,  destined  to  flatter  the  Im- 
perial ear,  are  heard  on  every  side.  The  prince  observes,  with 
self-complacency,  the  extent  of  his  power  as  a  reformer  ;  and  the 
fair  rebels  begin  to  laugh  as  soon  as  he  has  passed. 

However,  like  every  reformer,  the  Emperor  is  endowed  with 
an  obstinacy  which  must  ultimately  produce  success. 

At  the  extremity  of  that  square,  vast  as  a  mighty  region,  in 
which  stands  the  column,  is  to  be  seen  a  mountain  of  granite, — 
the  church  of  St.  Isaac  of  Petersburg.  This  edifice,  though  less 
stately,  less  beautiful  in  design,  and  less  rich  in  ornaments  than 
that  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  is  quite  as  extraordinary.  It  is  not 
finished,  and  one  cannot  therefore  judge  of  the  whole,  which  will 
be  a  work  whose  gigantic  proportions  will  far  exceed  those  which 
the  spirit  of  the  age  has  produced  among  other  nations.  Its 
materials  are  granite,  bronze,  and  iron,  and  no  other.  Its  colour 
is  imposing,  though  sombre. 

The  marvellous  temple  was  commenced  under  Alexander,  and 
will  soon  be  completed  under  the  reign  of  Nicholas,  by  the  same 
Frenchman  (M.  de  Montferrand)  who  raised  the  column. 

And  such  efforts  for  the  benefit  of  a  church  crippled  by  the 
civil  power  !  Alas  !  the  Word  of  God  will  never  be  heard  under 
this  roof.  The  temples  of  the  Greek  church  no  longer  serve  as 
roofs  for  the  pulpits  of  truth.  In  scorn  of  the  memories  of  the 
Athariasiuses  and  the  Chrysostoms,  religion  is  not  taught  pub- 
licly to  the  Russians.  The  Greek  Muscovites  suppress  the  word 
of  preaching,  unlike  the  Protestants,  whose  religion  consists  of 
nothing  but  that  word. 

The  Emperor,  aided  by  his  armies  of  soldiers  and  of  artists, 
exerts  himself  in  vain.  He  will  never  invest  the  Greek  church 
with  a  power  which  God  has  not  given  it :  it  may  be  rendered  a 
persecuting,  but  it  cannot  be  rendered  an  apostolical,  church. — a 
church,  that  is  to  say,  which  is  a  civiliser,  and  a  conqueror  in  the 
moral  world.  To  discipline  men  is  not  to  convert  souls.  This 
political  and  national  church  has  neither  moral  nor  spiritual  life: 
where  independence  is  wanting,  there  can  be  nothing  else  that  is 
good.  Schism,  in  separating  the  priest  from  his  independent 
head,  immediately  throws  him  into  the  hands  of  his  temporal 
prince  ;  and  thus  revolt  is  punished  by  slavery.  In  the  niosi 
bloody  periods  of  history,  the  Catholic  church  laboured  to  eman- 
cipate the  nations  :  the  adulterous  priest  sold  the  God  of  heaven 
to  the  god  of  the  world,  to  enable  him  to  tyrannise  over -men  in 
the  name  of  Christ ;  but  that  impious  priest,  while  even  killing 


194  CONVERSATION    WITH    A    FRENCHMAN. 

the  body,  enlightened  the  mind  :  for,  altogether  turned  from  the 
right  way  as  he  was,  he  nevertheless  formed  part  of  a  church 
which  possessed  life  arid  light.  The  Greek  priest  imparts  neither 
life  nor  death — he  is  himself  a  dead  body. 

Signs  of  the  cross,  salutations  in  the  streets,  bowing  of  the 
knees  before  the  chapels,  prostrations  of  old  devotees  upon  the 
pavements  of  the  churches,  kissings  of  the  hands,  a  wife,  children, 
and  universal  contempt, — such  are  the  fruits  of  the  priest's  abdi- 
cation,— such  is  all  that  he  has  been  able  to  obtain  from  the 
most  superstitious  people  in  the  world.  What  a  lesson  !  and 
what  a  punishment !  In  the  midst  of  the  triumph  of  his  schism, 
the  schismatic  priest  is  struck  with  impotence.  A  priest,  when 
he  wishes  to  engross  temporal  power,  perishes  for  the  want  of 
views  sufficiently  elevated  to  enable  him  to  see  the  road  that  God 
has  appointed  for  him ; — a  priest  who  allows  himself  to  be  de- 
throned by  the  king  for  the  want  of  courage  to  follow  that  road, 
equally  fails  in  his  high  calling. 

I  cannot  apologise  for  the  wandering  character  of  my  thoughts 
and  disquisitions,  for,  in  passing  freely  from  object  to  object,  from 
idea  to  idea,  I  describe  Russia  as  a  whole,  and  show  the  truth  as 
it  appears  to  me,  better  than  if,  with  a  more  methodical  style,  I 
purposely  endeavoured  to  avoid  the  reproach  of  inconsistencies, 
digressions,  or  confusion  of  subjects.  The  state  of  the  people,  the 
greatness  of  the  Emperor,  the  aspect  of  the  streets,  the  beauty 
of  the  public  buildings,  the  degraded  state  of  minds  consequent 
upon  the  degeneration  of  the  religious  principle,  all  strike  my  eyes 
at  the  same  moment,  and  pass,  so  to  speak,  at  once  under  my  pen  ; 
and  all  constitute  Russia,  the  principles  of  whose  life  reveal  them- 
selves to  my  thoughts  in  the  contemplation  of  objects  the  least 
significant  in  appearance. 

Yesterday,  I  walked  out  with  a  Frenchman,  an  intelligent 
person,  well  acquainted  with  Petersburg,  where  he  resides  as 
tutor  in  the  family  of  a  great  nobleman.  He  has  consequently 
opportunities  of  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  entirely  be- 
yond the  reach  of  passing  travellers.  He  considered  my  views 
of  Russia  too  favourable.  I  laugh  at  this  reproach  when  I  think 
of  those  which  the  Russians  will  make  against  me,  and  I  main- 
tain that  I  am  impartial,  seeing  that  I  hate  only  that  which  ap- 
pears to  me  evil,  and  that  I  admire  all  which  appears  good,  in 
this,  as  in  other  lands. 

The  Frenchman  of  whom  I  speak  passes  his  life  among  Rus- 
sian aristocrats. 

We  were  walking  leisurely  along  the  beautiful  promenade  of 


CONVERSATION    WITH    A    FRENCHMAN.  195 

the  Newski  Prospect,  when  suddenly  a  black  or  dark  green  coach 
passed  before  us.  It  was  long,  low  built,  and  closed  on  all  sides, 
and  much  resembled  an  enormous  coffin  raised  upon  wheels. 
Four  little  apertures  of  about  six  inches  square,  crossed  with  iron 
bars,  gave  air  and  light  to  this  moving  tomb;  a  child  of  eight, 
or,  at  the  most,  ten  years,  guided  the  two  horses  attached  to  the 
machine ;  and,  to  my  surprise,  a  considerable  number  of  soldiers 
escorted  it.  I  had  scarcely  time  to  ask  my  companion  the  use 
of  so  singular  an  equipage,  when  my  question  was  answered  by  a 
ghastly  face,  which  appeared  at  one  of  the  air  holes,  and  at  once 
informed  me  that  the  carriage  served  to  transport  prisoners  to 
the  place  of  their  destination. 

"  It  is  the  travelling  cell  of  the  Russians,"  said  my  compan- 
ion ;  "  elsewhere,  no  doubt,  they  have  similar  odious  objects  ; 
but  then  they  seek  to  hide  them  as  much  as  they  can  from  the 
public  ;  here,  they  make  as  much  display  of  them  as  possible. 
What  a  government !  " 

"  Think,"  I  replied,  "  of  the  difficulties  it  has  to  encoun- 
ter !  " 

"  Ah  !  you  are  still  the  dupe  of  their  gilded  words.  I 
see  the  Russian  authorities  impose  upon  you  whatever  they 
please." 

"  I  endeavour  to  place  myself  as  much  as  possible  in  their 
situation  ;  nothing  requires  more  candid  consideration  than  the 
position  of  those  who  govern,  for  it  is  not  they  who  have  created 
the  existing  state  of  things ;  their  business  is  to  defend  it  even 
while  prudently  reforming  it.  If  the  iron  rod  which  governs  this 
debased  people  were  to  be  removed  but  for  one  moment,  society 
would  be  overturned." 

"  They  tell  you  that ;  but,  trust  me,  they  delight  in  this  pre- 
tended necessity.  Those  who  most  complain  of  the  severities 
they  are  obliged,  as  they  say,  to  put  in  force,  would  renounce 
them  with  regret.  In  the  bottom  of  their  hearts  they  love  a 
government  without  check  or  counterpoise ;  such  a  government 
works  more  easily  than  any  other.  No  man  willingly  gives  up 
any  thing  which  makes  his  task  more  easy.  Could  you  expect  a 
preacher  to  dispense  with  the  terrors  of  hell,  in  his  efforts  to  con- 
vert hardened  sinners  ?  Hell  is  the  capital  punishment  of  the 
theologians  *  ;  at  first  they  make  use  of  it  with  regret,  as  of  a 
necessary  evil,  but  they  soon  acquire  a  taste  for  dealing  out 
damnation  upon  the  greater  part  of  mankind.  It  is  the  same 

*  1  would  beg  the  reader  to  remember  that  it  is  not  I  who  thus  speak. 


196  AN    INSURRECTION. 

thing  with  severe  measures  in  politics  ;  they  are  feared  before 
they  are  tried,  but  after  their  success  is  witnessed,  they  are 
admired  ;  and  such,  you  may  depend  upon  it,  is  the  feeling  too 
general  in  this  country.  I  often  think  that  they  take  pleasure  in 
creating  circumstances,  under  which  it  is  necessary  to  inflict 
punishment,  for  fear  they  should  get  out  of  practice.  Are  you 
ignorant  of  what  is  now  passing  on  the  Volga  ?" 

"  I  heard  of  serious  troubles  there,  but  they  say  that  they 
were  promptly  repressed." 

"No  doubt :  but  at  what  price  ?  And  what  should  you  say, 
were  I  to  tell  you  that  those  frightful  disorders  were  the  result 
of  a  word  of  the  Emperor's." 

"  Never  will  you  induce  me  to  believe  that  he  can  have  ap- 
proved such  horrors." 

"  Neither  do  I  say  he  has.  Nevertheless,  a  word  pronounced 
by  him — innocently,  I  believe — has  caused  the  evil.  The  fact 
is  as  follows :  notwithstanding  the  injustice  of  the  overseers  of 
the  crown,  the  lot  of  the  peasants  of  the  Emperor  is  still  prefer- 
able to  that  of  other  serfs  ;  and  whenever  the  sovereign  becomes 
proprietor  of  some  new  domain,  its  inhabitants  are  the  envy  of 
all  their  neighbours.  The  crown  lately  purchased  a  considerable 
estate  in  the  district  that  has  since  revolted.  Immediately,  the 
peasants  sent  deputies  from  every  part  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try to  the  new  superintendents  of  the  Imperial  lands,  to  suppli- 
cate the  Emperor  to  purchase  them  also.  The  serfs  chosen  as 
ambassadors  were  sent  on  to  Petersburg.  The  Emperor  received 
them  and  treated  them  with  kindness ;  but,  to  their  great  regret, 
he  did  not  buy  them.  '  I  cannot,'  he  said  to  them,  '  purchase  all 
Russia,  but  a  time  will  come,  I  hope,  when  each  peasant  of  this 
empire  will  be  free  :  if  it  depended  only  upon  me,  the  Russians 
should  enjoy,  from  this  day  forth,  the  independence  which  I  wish 
for  them ;  and  to  procure  them  which  at  a  future  period,  I  am 
labouring  with  all  my  power.'  " 

"  Well,  this  answer  seems  to  me  full  of  reason,  candour,  and 
humanity." 

"  No  doubt :  but  the  Emperor  should  have  known  the  men 
to  whom  he  addressed  such  words ;  and  not  have  murdered  his 
noblemen  out  of  tenderness  towards  his  serfs.  These  words,  in- 
terpreted by  barbarous  and  envious  peasants,  have  set  a  whole 
province  on  fire  ;  and  thus  has  it  become  necessary  to  punish  a 
people  for  crimes  which  they  were  instigated  to  commit.  '  Our 
Father  desires  our  deliverance,'  cried  the  returned  deputies  on 
the  borders  of  the  Volga ;  '  he  wishes  for  nothing  but  our  happi- 


BLOODY  SCENES  ON  THE  VOLGA.  197 

ness ;  he  said  so  to  us,  himself ;  it  is,  then,  only  the  nobles  and 
their  agents  who  are  our  enemies,  and  who  oppose  the  good  de- 
signs of  Our  Father !  Let  us  avenge  the  Emperor  ! '  After 
this,  the  peasants  believed  they  were  performing  a  pious  work  in 
rising  upon  their  masters,  and  thus  all  the  nobles  of  a  canton, 
and  all  their  agents  were  massacred,  together  with  their  families. 
They  spitted  one,  and  roasted  him  alive  ;  they  boiled  another  in  a 
cauldron  ;  they  disembowelled,  and  killed,  in  various  other  ways, 
the  stewards  and  agents  of  the  estates ;  they  murdered  all  they 
met,  burnt  whole  towns,  and,  in  short,  devastated  a  province ;  not 
in  the  name  of  liberty,  for  they  do  not  know  what  liberty  means, 
but  in  the  name  of  deliverance  and  of  the  Emperor." 

"  It  was  perhaps  some  of  these  savages  whom  we  saw  passing 
in  the  prisoners'  conveyance.  How  could  such  beings  be  influ- 
enced by  the  gentle  means  employed  by  the  governments  of 
Western  Europe  1  " 

"  It  would  be  necessary  gradually  to  change  the  ideas  of  the 
people ;  instead  of  which  they  find  it  more  convenient  to  change 
their  location.  After  every  scene  of  this  kind,  villages  and  en- 
tire cantons  are  transported.  No  population  is  sure  of  preserv- 
ing its  territory,  the  result  of  which  is,  that  men  who  have  be- 
come naturally  attached  to  the  soil,  are  deprived,  in  slavery,  of 
the  only  compensation  which  could  comport  with  their  condition. 
By  an  infernal  combination,  they  are  made  moveable  without 
being  made  free.  A  word  from  the  monarch  roots  them  up  as 
though  they  were  trees,  tears  them  from  their  native  soil,  and 
sends  them  to  perish  or  to  languish  at  the  world's  end.  The 
peasant,  exposed  to  these  storms  of  supreme  power,  loves  not  his 
cabin,  the  only  thing  in  this  world  that  he  could  love ;  he  detests 
his  life,  and  ill-understands  its  duties ;  for  it  is  necessary  to  im- 
part some  happiness  to  a  man  in  order  to  make  him  feel  his  obli- 
gations ;  misery  only  instructs  him  in  hypocrisy  and  revolt.  If 
self-interest,  when  well  understood,  is  not  the  foundation  of 
morals,  it  is  at  least  their  support." 

"  Yet  it  is  difficult  to  change  the  spirit  of  a  people :  it  is  the 
work  neither  of  a  day,  nor  of  a  reign." 

"  Is  it  a  work  at  which  they  sincerely  labour  ?" 

"  I  think  so,  but  with  prudence." 

"  What  you  call  prudence,  I  call  insincerity ;  you  do  not 
know  the  Emperor." 

"  Reproach  him  with  being  inflexible,  but  not  with  being 
false ;  in  a  prince,  inflexibility  is  often  a  virtue." 

"  Do  you  believe  the  character  of  the  Emperor  to  be  sincere  ? 
Remember  his  conduct  at  the  death  of  Pouschkin." 


198  THE    POET    POUSCHKIN. 

"  I  do  not  know  the  circumstances  of  that  event." 

Thus  talking,  we  arrived  at  the  Champ  de  Mars,  a  vast  square, 
which  appears  a  desert,  though  it  occupies  the  middle  of  the  city. 
A  man  may  converse  there  with  less  danger  of  being  overheard 
than  in  his  chamber.  My  cicerone  continued : — 

"  Pouschkin  was.  as  you  are  aware,  .the  greatest  of  Russian 
poets." 

"  We  are  no  judges  of  that." 

"  We  are,  at  least,  of  his  reputation.  Whether  well  founded 
or  not,  his  reputation  was  great.  He  was  yet  young,  and  of  an 
irascible  temper.  You  know  he  had  Moorish  blood  on  his  mother's 
side.  His  wife,  a  very  handsome  woman,  inspired  him  with  more 
passion  than  confidence.  His  poetical  temperament,  and  his 
African  blood,  made  him  easily  jealous ;  and  it  was  thus,  exas- 
perated by  appearances  and  by  false  reports,  envenomed  with  a 
perfidy  which  calls  to  mind  the  conception  of  Shakespeare,  that 
this  Russian  Othello  lost  all  reason,  and  sought  to  force  the  man 
by  whom  he  believed  himself  injured,  to  fight  with  him.  This 
person  was  a  Frenchman,  and,  unfortunately,  his  brother-in-law ; 
his  name  was  M.  de  Antes.  A  duel  in  Russia  is  a  serious  affair, 
the  more  so,  because,  instead  of  according,  as  among  us,  with 
ideas  and  customs  in  opposition  to  laws,  it  militates  against  all 
preconceived  notions :  this  nation  is  more  Oriental  than  chival- 
rous. Duelling  is  illegal  here  as  elsewhere ;  but,  besides  this,  it 
is  less  supported  by  public  opinion  than  in  other  lands.  M.  de 
Antes  did  all  he  could  to  avoid  the  difficulty.  Urged  vehemently 
by  the  unhappy  husband,  he  refused  him  satisfaction,  though  in 
a  manner  that  was  dignified :  but.  notwithstanding,  he  continued 
his  assiduities.  Pouschkin  became  almost  mad.  The  constant 
presence  of  the  man  whose  death  he  wished,  appeared  to  him  a 
permanent  insult,  and  in  order  to  rid  himself  of  him,  he  acted 
in  a  way  that  made  a  duel  inevitable.  The  two  brothers-in-law 
fought,  and  M.  de  Antes  killed  Pouschkin.  The  man  whom 
public  opinion  accused,  triumphed  ;  and  the  injured  husband,  the 
national  poet,  the  innocent  party,  fell. 

"  This  death  excited  public  indignation.  Pouschkin,  the 
Russian  poet,  par  excellence,  the  author  of  the  finest  odes  in  the 
language,  the  glory  of  the  country,  the  restorer  of  Sclavonian 
poetry,  in  short,  the  pride  of  the  age,  the  hope  of  the  future,  to 
fall  by  the  hand  of  a  Frenchman !  was  an  event  that  roused  pub- 
lic passion  to  the  highest  pitch.  Petersburg,  Moscow,  the  whole 
empire  was  in  excitement.  The  Emperor,  who  knows  the  Rus- 
sians better  than  any  man  in  Russia,  took  care  to  join  in  the 


FATE    OF    HIS    SUCCESSOR.  199 

public  affliction.  He  ordered  a  service  to  be  performed,  and  I 
am  not  sure  that  he  did  not  carry  his  pious  affectation  so  far  as 
to  assist  in  person  at  the  ceremony,  in  order  to  publish  his  regret 
by  taking  God  to  witness  his  admiration  of  the  national  genius 
removed  too  soon  for  the  nation's  glory. 

"  However  this  may  be,  the  sympathy  of  the  sovereign  so  flat- 
tered the  Muscovite  spirit  as  to  awake  a  generous  patriotism  in 
the  breast  of  a  young  man,  endowed  with  considerable  talent. 
This  too  credulous  poet  was  so  enraptured  by  the  august  protec- 
tion accorded  to  the  first  of  all  arts,  that  he  grew  bold  enough 
to  believe  himself  inspired  !  In  the  ingenious  yearnings  of  his 
gratitude,  he  ventured  even  to  write  an  ode — a  patriotic  ode,  to 
thank  the  Emperor  for  becoming  the  protector  of  literature.  He 
concluded  his  remarkable  production  by  singing  the  praises  of  the 
departed  bard.  This  was  all  he  did  ;  I  have  read  the  verses,  and 
I  can  attest  the  innocent  intentions  of  the  author ;  unless  at  least 
it  might  be  a  crime  to  conceal  in  the  depths  of  his  bosom  a  hope, 
perhaps,  of  becoming  one  day  a  second  Pouschkin, — a  hope  very 
pardonable,  it  seems  to  me,  in  a  youthful  imagination. 

"  Audacious  youth  !  to  aim  at  renown,  to  betray  a  passion  for 
glory  under  a  despotism  !  It  was  the  same  as  if  Prometheus  had 
said  to  Jupiter, — '  Take  care  of  yourself,  I  am  going  to  rob  you 
of  your  thunderbolts.' 

"  The  recompense  which  this  young  aspirant  received  for  hav- 
ing thus  publicly  shown  his  confidence  in  his  master's  love  for 
the  fine  arts  and  the  belles-lettres,  was  a  SECRET  order  to  go  and 
pursue  his  poetical  studies  on  the  Caucasus,  a  chapel  of  ease  to 
the  ancient  Siberia. 

"  After  having  remained  there  two  years,  he  has  returned,  his 
health  destroyed,  his  spirit  broken,  and  his  imagination  radically 
cured  of  its  chimeras.  After  this  trait,  will  you  yet  put  trust  in 
the  official  words  or  the  public  acts  of  the  Emperor  ?  " 

u  The  Emperor  is  a  man ;  he  shares  human  weaknesses. 
Something  must  have  shocked  him  in  the  allusions  of  the  young 
poet.  Perhaps  they  were  European  rather  than  national.  The 
Emperor  proceeds  on  a  principle  the  very  opposite  to  that  of 
Catherine  II.,  he  braves  Europe  instead  of  flattering  it.  This  is 
wrong,  I  admit ;  for  studied  opposition  is  in  itself  a  species  of 
dependence,  since  under  it,  a  man  is  only  influenced  by  contra- 
diction ;  but  it  is  pardonable,  especially  if  you  reflect  on  the  evil 
caused  to  Russia  by  princes  who  were  possessed  all  their  life  with 
the  mania  of  imitation." 

"  You  are  incorrigible  !  "exclaimed  the  advocate  of  the  ancient 


200  ANXIETY    TO    REACH    MOSCOW. 

boyars.  "  You  believe,  then,  in  the  possibility  of  Russian  civilisa- 
tion ?  It  promised  well  before  the  time  of  Peter  the  Great,  but 
that  prince  destroyed  the  fruit  in  its  germ.  Go  to  Moscow,  it  is 
the  centre  of  the  ancient  empire  ;  yet  you  will  see  that  all  minds 
are  turned  towards  speculations  of  industry,  and  that  the  national 
character  is  as  much  effaced  there  as  at  St.  Petersburg.  The 
Emperor  Nicholas  commits  to-day,  though  with  different  views,  a 
fault  analogous  to  that  of  Peter  the  Great.  He  does  not  take 
into  account  the  history  of  an  entire  age,  the  age  of  the  Emperor 
Peter :  history  has  its  fatalities, — the  fatalities  offaits  accomplis. 
Woe  to  the  prince  who  does  not  submit  to  these ! " 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Petersburg  in  the  Absence  of  the  Emperor.— Character  of  the  Courtiers. — The  Tchinn.— Its 
Nature  and  Origin.— Destruction  of  the  Aristocracy.— Character  of  Peter  the  Great. — The 
Tchinn  divided  into  Fourteen  Classes. — An  immense  Power  in  the  Hands  of  the  Emperor. 
—Opposite  Opinions  on  the  Future  Influence  of  Russia.— Russian  Hospitality.— Polite 
Formalities. — Resemblance  to  the  Chinese.— Difference  between  the  Russians  and  the 
French.— Russian  Honesty.— Opinion  of  Napoleon. — The  only  sincere  Man  in  the  Empire. 
—Spoiled  Savages.— Absurd  Architecture.— Beauty  of  the  Quays.— The  great  Square. 
— The  Churches.— Palace  of-  the  Taurida.— Antique  Venus. — The  Hermitage.— Picture 
Gallery.— Private  social  Code  of  the  Empress  Catherine. 

I  HAD  promised  my  friends  that  I  would  not  return  to  France 
without  seeing  Moscow,  the  fabulous  city — fabulous  in  spite  of 
history  ;  for  the  grandeur  of  the  events  connected  with  it,  though 
they  recall  the  most  positive  and  clearly-defined  occurrences  of 
our  age,  renders  its  name  poetical  beyond  all  other  names. 

This  scene  of  an  epic  poem  has  a  sublimity  which  contrasts,  in 
a  whimsical  manner,  with  the  spirit  of  an  age  of  mathematicians 
and  stock-jobbers.  I  am  therefore  especially  impatient  to  reach 
Moscow,  for  which  city  I  set  out  in  two  days.  My  impatience 
will  not,  however,  prevent  my  expatiating  on  all  that  may  strike 
me  before  arriving  there,  for  I  mean  to  complete,  as  far  as  I  am 
able,  the  picture  of  this  vast  and  singular  empire. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  dulness  of  St.  Petersburg 
during  the  absence  of  the  Emperor.  At  no  time  does  the  city 
exhibit  what  may  be  called  gaiety ;  but  without  the  court,  it  is  a 
desert.  The  reader  is  aware  that  it  is  constantly  menaced  with 
destruction  by  the  sea.  This  morning,  while  traversing  its  soli- 
tary quays  and  empty  streets,  I  said  to  myself,  "  Surely  the  city 
must  be  about  to  be  inundated ;  the  inhabitants  have  fled,  and  the 


PETERSBURG    IN    THE    EMPEROR'S    ABSENCE.  201 

water  will  soon  recover  possession  of  the  marsh."  Nothing  of  the 
kind:  Petersburg  is  lifeless  only  because  the  Emperor  is  at 
Peterhoff. 

The  water  of  the  Neva,  driven  back  by  the  sea,  rises  so  high, 
and  the  banks  are  so  low,  that  this  large  inlet,  with  its  innumera- 
ble arms,  resembles  a  stagnant  inundation,  an  overflowing  marsh. 
They  call  the  Neva  a  river,  but  it  is  for  want  of  a  more  precise 
signification.  At  Petersburg,  the  Neva  has  already  become  the 
sea  ;  higher  up,  it  is  a  channel  of  a  few  leagues  in  length,  which 
serves  to  convey  the  superfluous  waters  of  Lake  Ladoga  into  the 
Gulf  of  Finland. 

At  the  period  when  the  quays  of  Petersburg  were  built,  a  taste 
for  structures  of  small  elevation  prevailed  among  the  Russians. 
The  adoption  of  this  taste  was  very  injudicious  in  a  country 
where  the  snow,  during  eight  months  in  the  year,  diminishes  the 
height  of  the  walls  by  six  feet ;  and  where  the  surface  of  the  soil 
presents  no  variety  that  might,  in  any  degree,  relieve  the  mono- 
tony of  the  regular  circle  which  forms  the  unchangeable  line  of 
horizon,  serving  as  a  frame  for  scenes  level  as  the  ocean.  In  my 
youth,  I  inhaled  enthusiasm  at  the  feet  of  the  mountainous  coasts 
of  Calabria,  before  landscapes  al)  of  whose  lines,  excepting  those 
of  the  sea,  were  vertical.  Here,  on  the  contrary,  I  see  only  one 
plane  surface  terminated  by  a  perfectly  horizontal  line  drawn 
betwixt  the  sky  and  the  water.  The  mansions,  palaces,  and  col- 
leges which  line  the  Neva,  seem  scarcely  to  rise  above  the  soil,  or 
rather  the  sea :  some  have  only  one  story,  the  loftiest  not  more 
than  three,  and  all  appear  dilapidated.  The  masts  of  the  vessels 
overshoot  the  roofs  of  the  houses.  These  roofs  are  of  painted 
iron  ;  they  are  light  and  elegant,  but  very  flat,  like  those  of  Italy, 
whereas  pointed  roofs  are  alone  proper  in  countries  where  snow 
abounds.  In  Russia,  we  are  shocked  at  every  step  by  the  results 
of  imitation  without  reflection. 

Between  the  square  blocks  of  an  architecture  which  pretends 
to  be  Italian,  run  wide,  straight,  and  empty  vistas,  which  they 
call  streets,  and  which,  notwithstanding  their  projecting  colon- 
nades, are  any  thing  but  classical.  The  scarcity  of  the  women 
also  contributes  to  the  dulness  of  the  city.  Those  who  are  pretty, 
seldom  appear  on  foot.  Wealthy  persons  who  wish  to  walk,  are 
invariably  followed  by  a  servant.  The  practice  is,  here,  one  of 
prudence  and  necessity. 

The  Emperor  alone  has  the  power  to  people  this  wearisome 
abode,  abandoned  so  soon  as  its  master  has  disappeared.  He  is 
the  magician  who  puts  thought  and  motion  into  the  human 
q*  >^ 

^o\. 


BBNIOIA  DI 

TJBRARY.^ 


202  CHARACTER    OF    THE    COURTIERS. 

machines, — a  magician  in  whose  presence  Russia  wakes,  and  in 
whose  absence  she  sleeps.  After  the  court  has  left,  the  superb 
metropolis  has  the  appearance  of  a  theatre  when  the  representa- 
tion is  over.  Since  my  return  from  Peterhoff,  I  can  scarcely  re- 
cognise the  city  I  left  four  days  ago ;  but  were  the  Emperor  to 
return  this  evening,  every  thing  to-morrow  would  recover  its  for- 
mer interest.  We  should  have  to  become  Russians  to  understand 
the  power  of  the  sovereign's  eye  ;  it  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
the  lover's  eye  spoken  of  by  La  Fontaine.  Do  you  suppose  that  a 
young  girl  bestows  a  thought  on  her  love  affairs  in  the  presence 
of  the  Emperor  ?  Do  not  deceive  yourself;  she  is  occupied  with 
the  idea  of  procuring  some  promotion  for  her  brother.  The  old 
women,  so  soon  as  they  breathe  the  air  of  the  court,  feel  no  longer 
their  infirmities.  They  may  have  no  family  to  provide  for, — no 
matter,  they  play  the  courtier  for  the  pure  love  of  the  game. 
They  are  servile  without  an  object,  just  as  others  like  play  for  its 
own  sake.  Thus,  by  an  endeavour  to  shake  off  the  burden  of 
years,  these  wrinkled  puppets  lose  all  the  dignity  of  age.  We 
have  no  pity  for  busy,  intriguing  decrepitude,  because  it  is  ridi- 
culous. At  the  end  of  life,  it  is  surely  time  to  set  about  prac- 
tising the  lesson  which  time  is  ever  teaching,  the  grand  art, 
namely,  of  giving  up.  Happy  those  who  early  learn  to  apply 
this  lesson.  To  renounce,  is  the  great  proof  of  a  powerful  mind : 
to  abdicate  a  position  before  it  is  lost, — this  is  the  policy  of  old 
age. 

It  is,  however,  a  policy  little  practised  at  court,  and  at  that  of 
St.  Petersburg  less  than  at  any  other.  Busy,  restless  old  women 
are  the  plagues  of  the  court  of  Russia.  The  sun  of  favour  dazzles 
and  blinds  the  ambitious,  more  especially  those  of  the  female  sex  ; 
it  prevents  their  discerning  their  true  interest,  which  would  be  to 
save  their  pride  by  concealing  the  miseries  of  their  hearts.  On 
the  contra-ry,  the  Russian  courtiers  glory  in  the  abject  meanness 
of  their  souls.  The  flatterer  here  shuffles  his  cards  upon  the 
table,  and  I  am  only  astonished  that  he  can  win  any  thing  in  a 
game  so  palpable  to  all  the  world.  In  the  presence  of  the  Em- 
peror the  asthmatic  breathes,  the  paralysed  becomes  active,  the 
gouty  loses  his  pain,  the  lovers  no  longer  burn,  the  young  men  no 
longer  seek  to  amuse  themselves,  the  men  of  mind  no -longer  think. 
In  lieu  of  all  these  human  states,  mental  and  physical,  one  com- 
bined sentiment  of  avarice  and  vanity  animates  life  even  to  its 
latest  sigh.  These  two  passions  are  the  breath  of  all  courts  ;  but 
here,  they  impart  to  their  victims  a  military  emulation,  a  dis- 
ciplined rivalry,  whose  agitating  influences  extend  throughout  all 


THE    TCHINN.  203 

the  stages  of  society.  To  rise  a  step  by  more  carefully  dancing 
attendance, — such  is  the  absorbing  thought  of  this  etiquette-in- 
structed crowd. 

But  then,  what  prostration  of  strength,  when  the  luminary 
in  whose  beam  these  flattering  motes  may  be  seen  to  move,  is  no 
longer  above  the  horizon  !  It  is  like  the  evening  dew  quenching 
the  dust,  or  the  nuns  in  Robert  le  Diable  again  repairing  to  their 
sepulchres  to  wait  the  signal  for  another  round. 

With  this  continual  stretch  of  all  minds  towards  advancement, 
conversation  is  impossible.  The  eyes  of  the  Russian  courtiers 
are  the  sunflowers  of  the  palace.  They  speak  without  interesting 
themselves  in  any  thing  that  is  said,  and  their  looks  remain  all 
the  while  fascinated  by  the  sun  of  favour. 

The  absence  of  the  Emperor  does  not  render  conversation 
more  free  :  he  is  still  present  to  the  mind.  The  thoughts  instead 
of  the  eyes,  then  become  the  sunflowers.  In  one  word,  the  Em- 
peror is  the  god,  the  life,  the  passion,  of  this  unhappy  people. 
Imagine  human  existence  reduced  to  the  hope  that  an  obeisance 
will  procure  the  acknowledgment  of  a  look  !  God  has  implanted 
too  many  passions  in  the  human  heart  for  the  uses  which  are  here 
made  of  it. 

If  I  put  myself  in  the  place  of  the  only  man  who  has  here  the 
right  to  live  free,  I  tremble  for  him.  To  have  to  play  the  part 
of  Providence  over  sixty  millions  of  souls  is  a  dreadful  office. 
The  divinity  has  only  the  choice  of  two  things  :  either  to  destroy 
his  own  power  by  showing  himself  a  man,  or  to  lead  his  vota- 
ries to  the  conquest  of  the  world,  in  maintaining  his  character  as 
a  god. 

It  is  thus,  that,  in  Russia,  the  whole  of  life  becomes  nothing 
more  than  a  school  of  ambition. 

But  by  what  road  have  the  Russians  reached  this  point  of  self- 
abnegation?  What  human  means  could  produce  such  a  political 
result  ?  The  cause  of  all  is  the  tchinn :  the  tchinn  is  the  gal- 
vanism, the  apparent  life,  of  souls  and  bodies  here, — the  passion 
which  survives  all  other  passions.  I  have  shown  its  effects ;  it  is 
therefore  necessary  that  I  should  explain  its  nature. 

The  tchinn  is  a  nation  formed  into  a  regiment ;  it  is  the  mili- 
tary system  applied  to  all  classes  of  society,  even  to  those  which 
never  go  to  war.  In  short,  it  is  the  division  of  the  civil  population 
into  ranks,  which  correspond  to  ranks  in  the  army.  Since  this 
institution  has  been  established,  a  man  who  has  never  seen  exer- 
cise may  obtain  the  rank  of  Colonel. 

Peter  the  Great — it  is  always  to  him  that  we  must  go  back  in 


204  THE    TCHINN    DIVIDED    INTO    CLASSES. 

order  to  understand  the  actual  state  of  Russia — Peter  the  Great, 
troubled  by  certain  national  prejudices,  which  had  a  resemblance 
to  aristocracy,  and  which  incommoded  him  in  the  execution  of  his 
plans,  took  it  into  his  head  one  day  to  discover  that  the  minds  of 
his  people  were  too  independent ;  and,  in  order  to  remedy  the  evil, 
that  great  workman  could  devise  nothing  better  in  his  profoundly 
deep,  yet  narrow  penetration,  than  to  divide  the  herd,  that  is  to 
say,  the  people,  into  classes,  entirely  irrespective  of  name,  birth,  and 
family ;  so  that  the  son  of  the  highest  noble  in  the  empire  may 
belong  to  an  inferior  class,  while  the  son  of  one  of  the  peasants 
may  rise  to  the  highest  classes,  if  such  be  the  good  will  of  the 
Emperor.  Under  this  division  of  the  people,  every  man  takes 
his  position  according  to  the  favour  of  the  prince.  Thus  it 
is  that  Russia  has  become  a  regiment  of  sixty  millions  strong  ; 
and  this  is  the  tchinn, — the  mightiest  achievement  of  Peter  the 
Great. 

By  its  means,  that  prince  freed  himself  in  one  day  from  the 
fetters  of  ages.  The  tyrant,  when  he  undertook  to  regenerate  his 
people,  held  sacred  neither  nature,  history,  character,  nor  life. 
Such  sacrifices  render  great  results  easy.  Peter  knew  better  than 
any  one  that,  so  long  as  an  order  of  nobility  exists  in  a  community, 
the  despotism  of  one  man  can  be  nothing  more  than  a  fiction.  He 
therefore  said,  "  To  realise  my  government  I  must  annihilate  the 
remains  of  the  feudal  syste  m  ;  and  the  best  way  of  doing  this  is 
to  make  caricatures  of  gentlemen, — to  destroy  the  nobility  by 
rendering  it  a  creation  of  my  own."  It  has  consequently  been, 
if  not  destroyed,  at  least  nullified,  by  an  institution  that  occupies 
its  place,  though  it  does  not  replace  it.  There  are  castes  in  this 
social  system,  in  which  to  enter  is  to  acquire  hereditary  nobility. 
Peter  the  Great,  whom  I  should  prefer  to  call  Peter  the  Strong, 
forestalling  our  modern  revolutions  by  more  than  half  a  century, 
thus  crushed  the  spirit  of  feudalism.  Less  powerful  under  him 
than  it  was  among  us,  it  fell  beneath  the  half  civil,  half  military 
institution  which  constitutes  modern  Russia.  Peter  was  endowed 
with  a  clear  and  yet  a  limited  understanding.  In  rearing  his 
system  on  so  great  a  ruin,  he  knew  not  how  to  profit  by  the  exor- 
bitant powers  he  had  engrossed,  except  in  mimicking,  more  athis 
case,  the  civilization  of  Europe. 

With  the  means  of  action  usurped  by  this  prince,  a  creative 
genius  would  have  worked  much  greater  miracles.  The  Russian 
nation,  ascending  after  all  the  others  upon  the  great  stage  of  the 
world,  possessed  the  gift  of  imitation  in  lieu  of  genius,  and  had  a 
carpenter's  apprentice  for  its  prompter  !  Under  a  chief  less  fond 


IMMENSE    POWER    OF    THE    EMPEROR.  205 

of  minutiae,  less  attached  to  details,  that  nation  would  have  distin- 
guished itself,  more  tardily,  it  is  true,  but  more  gloriously.  Its 
power,  corresponding  with  its  own  internal  requirements,  would 
have  been  useful  to  the  world  :  it  is  now  only  astonishing. 

The  successors  of  this  lawgiver  in  fustian  have,  during  one 
hundred  years,  united,  with  the  ambition  of  subjugating  their 
neighbours,  the  weakness  of  copying  them.  In  the  present  day, 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  believes  the  time  is  arrived  when  Russia 
has  no  longer  need  of  looking  for  models  among  foreigners  in 
order  to  conquer  and  to  rule  the  world.  He  is  the  first  really 
Russian  sovereign  since  Ivan  IV.  Peter  I,  was  a  Russian  in 
character,  though  not  in  politics ;  Nicholas  is  a  German  by 
nature,  but  a  Russian  by  calculation  and  by  necessity. 

The  tchinn  consists  of  fourteen  classes,  each  of  which  possesses 
its  own  peculiar  privileges.  The  fourteenth  is  the  lowest. 

Placed  immediately  above  the  serfs,  its  sole  advantage  consists 
in  its  members  having  the  title  of  freemen.  Their  freedom  means 
that  no  one  can  strike  them  without  rendering  himself  liable  to 
prosecution.  In  return,  every  member  of  the  class  has  to  inscribe 
^n  his  door  his  registered  number,  in  order  that  no  superior  may 
^>eled  to  act  under  an  ignorance  that  would  render  him  liable  to 
a  penalty. 

The  fourteenth  class  is  composed  of  persons  in  the  lowest 
employ  under  the  government,  clerks  of  the  post-office,  factors, 
and  other  subordinates  charged  with  carrying  or  executing  the 
orders  of  the  heads  of  departments  :  it  answers  to  the  rank  of 
sub-officer  in  the  imperial  army.  The  men  who  compose  it  are 
servants  of  the  Emperor,  and  serfs  of  no  one  :  they  possess  a 
sense  of  their  social  dignity.  But  as  to  human  dignity,  it  is  not 
known  in  Russia. 

All  the  other  classes  of  the  tchinn  answer  to  as  many  military 
grades ;  the  order  that  reigns  throughout  the  entire  state  is  ana- 
logous to  the  order  of  the  army.  The  first  class  stands  at  the 
summit  of  the  pyramid,  and  now  consists  of  one  single  man — • 
Marshal  Paskewitch,  viceroy  of  Warsaw. 

The  will  of  the  Emperor  is  the  sole  means  by  which  an  indi- 
vidual is  promoted  in  the  tchinn  ;  so  that  a  man,  rising  step  by 
step,  to  the  highest  rank  in  this  artificial  nation,  may  attain  the 
first  military  dignity  without  having  served  in  any  army.  The 
favour  of  promotion  is  never  demanded,  but  always  intrigued 
for. 

There  is  here  an  immense  quantity  of  fermenting  material 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  head  of  the  state.  Medical  men  com- 


206  FUTURE    INFLUENCE    OF    RUSSIA. 

plain  of  their  inability  to  communicate  fever  to  certain  patients  in 
order  to  cure  them  of  chronic  maladies.  The  Czar  Peter  inocu- 
lated with  the  fever  of  ambition  the  whole  body  of  his  people,  in 
order  to  render  them  more  pliant,  and  to  govern  them  according 
to  his  humour. 

The  English  aristocracy  is  equally  independent  of  birth ;  it 
depends  upon  two  things,  w.'iich  may  be  acquired,  office  and  estate. 
If,  then,  that  aristocracy,  moderated  as  it  is,  still  imparts  an  enor- 
mous influence  to  the  crown,  how  great  must  be  the  power  of  a 
crown  whence  all  these  things — the  rank,  and  also  the  office  and 
estate — are  both  dejure  and  de  facto  derived  ! 

There  results  from  such  a  social  organization  a  fever  of  envy 
so  violent,  a  stretch  of  mind  towards  ambition  so  constant,  that 
the  Russian  people  will  needs  become  incapable  of  any  thing 
except  the  conquest  of  the  world.  I  always  return  to  this  expres- 
sion, because  it  is  the  only  one  that  can  explain  the  excessive 
sacrifices  imposed  here  upon  the  individual  by  society.  If  the 
extreme  of  ambition  can  dry  up  the  heart  of  a  man,  it  may  also 
stop  the  fountain  of  intellect,  and  so  lead  astray  the  judgment  of 
a  nation  as  to  induce  it  to  sacrifice  its  liberty  for  victory.  With- 
out this  idea,  avowed  or  disguised,  and  the  influence  of  whicL 
many,  perhaps,  obey  unconsciously,  the  history  of  Russia  would 
seem  to  me  an  inexplicable  enigma. 

Here  is  suggested  the  grand  question  :  is  the  idea  of  conquest 
that  forms  the  secret  aspiration  of  Russia,  a  lure,  suited  only  to 
seduce  for  a  period,  more  or  less  long,  a  rude  and  ignorant  popu- 
lation, or  is  it  one  day  to  be  realised  ? 

This  question  besets  me  unceasingly,  and,  in  spite  of  all  my 
efforts,  I  cannot  solve  it.  All  that  I  can  say  is,  that  since  I  have 
been  in  Russia,  I  have  formed  a  gloomy  view  of  the  future  reserved 
for  Europe.  At  the  same  time,  my  conscience  obliges  me  to  admit 
that  my  opinion  is  combated  by  wise  and  very  experienced  men. 
These  men  say  that  I  exaggerate  in  my  own  mind  the  power  of 
Russia  ;  that  every  community  has  its  prescribed  destiny,  and  that 
the  destiny  of  this  community  is  to  extend  its  conquests  eastward, 
and  then  to  become  divided.  Those  minds  that  refuse  to  believe 
in  the  brilliant  future  of  the  Sclavouiaus,  agree  with  me  as  regards 
the  amiable  and  happy  disposition  of  that  people  ;  they  admit  that 
they  are  endowed  with  an  instinctive  sentiment  of  the  picturesque  , 
they  allow  them  a  natural  talent  for  music ;  and  they  conclude 
that  these  dispositions  will  enable  them  to  cultivate  the  fine  arts 
to  a  certain  extent,  but  that  they  do  not  suffice  to  constitute  the 
capacity  for  conquering  and  commanding  which  I  attribute  to 


OPPOSITE    OPINIONS    ON    THIS    INFLUENCE.  207 

them.  They  add,  that  "  the  Russians  want  scientific  genius  ;  that 
they  have  never  shown  any  inventive  power ;  that  they  have  re- 
ceived from  nature  an  idolent  and  superficial  mind;  that  if  they 
apply  themselves,  it  is  through  fear  rather  than  inclination  :  fear 
makes  them  apt  to  undertake  and  to  draw  the  rough  drafts  of 
things,  but  it  also  prevents  their  proceeding  far  in  any  effort  : 
genius  is,  in  its  nature,  as  hardy  as  heroism  ;  it  lives  on  liberty ; 
whilst  fear  and  slavery  have  a  reign  and  a  sphere  as  limited  as  me- 
diocrity, of  which  they  are  the  weapons.  The  Russians,  though 
good  soldiers,  are  bad  seamen  ;  in  general,  they  are  more  resigned 
than  reflective,  more  religious  than  philosophical ;  they  have  more 
instinct  of  obedience  than  will  of  their  own  ;  their  thoughts  lack 
a  spring  as  their  souls  lack  liberty.  The  task  which  is  to  them 
most  difficult,  and  least  natural,  is  seriously  to  occupy  their  minds 
and  to  fix  their  imaginations  upon  useful  exercises.  Ever  chil- 
dren, they  might,  nevertheless,  for  a  moment  be  conquerors  in  the 
realm  of  the  sword  ;  but  they  would  never  be  so  in  that  of 
thought :  and  a  people  who  cannot  teach  any  thing  to  those  they 
conquer,  cannot  long  be  the  most  powerful. 

"  Even  physically,  the  French  and  English  are  more  robust 
Mian  the  Russians  ;  the  latter  are  more  agile  than  muscular,  more 
£  avage  than  energetic,  more  cunning  than  enterprising ;  they 
,)ossess  passive  courage,  but  they  want  daring  and  perseverance. 
The  army,  so  remarkable  for  its  discipline  and  its  appearance  on 
days  of  parade,  is  composed,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  elites 
corps,  of  men  well  clad  when  they  show  themselves  in  public,  but 
slovenly  and  dirty  so  long  as  they  remain  in  their  barracks.  The 
cadaverous  complexions  of  the  soldiers  indicate  hunger  and  dis- 
ease :  the  two  campaigns  in  Turkey  have  sufficiently  demonstrated 
the  weakness  of  the  giant.  Finally,  a  community  that  has  not 
tasted  liberty  at  its  birth,  and  in  which  all  the  great  political 
crises  have  been  brought  about  by  foreign  influence,  cannot,  thus 
enervated  in  its  germ,  have  a  long  existence  in  prospect." 

Such,  it  seems  to  me,  are  the  strongest  reasons  opposed  to  my 
fears  by  the  political  optimists.  From  them,  it  is  concluded  tlwt 
Russia,  powerful  at  home,  and  formidable  when  she  struggles 
with  the  Asiatic  people,  would  break  herself  against  Europe  so 
soon  as  she  should  throw  off  the  mask,  and  make  war  in  main- 
tenance of  her  arrogant  diplomacy. 

I  have  in  no  degree  weakened  the  arguments  of  those  who  thus 
think.  Tli-v  accuse  me  of  exaggerating  the  danger.  At  any 
rate,  my  opinions  are  shared  by  other  minds,  quite  as  sober  as 
those  of  my  adversaries,  minds  which  do  not  cease  to  reproach 


208  RUSSIAN    HOSPITALITY. 

those  optimists  with  their  blindness,  in  exhorting  them  to  see  the 
evil  before  it  become  irremediable. 

I  stand  close  by  the  Colossus,  and  I  find  it  difficult  to  persuade 
myself  that  the  only  object  of  this  creation  of  Providence  is  to 
diminish  the  barbarism  of  Asia.  It  appears  to  me  that  it  is 
chiefly  destined  to  chastise  the  corrupt  civilisation  of  Europe,  by 
the  agency  of  a  new  invasion.  The  eternal  tyranny  of  the  East 
menaces  us  incessantly ;  and  we  shall  have  to  bow  to  it,  if  our 
extravagance  and  iniquities  render  us  worthy  of  the  punishment. 

The  reader  must  not  expect  from  me  a  complete  account  of 
Russia.  I  neglect  to  speak  of  many  celebrated  things,  because 
they  make  little  impression  upon  me.  I  wish  only  to  describe 
what  strikes  or  interests  me.  Nomenclatures  and  catalogues 
disgust  me  with  travels,  and  there  are  plenty  of  them  without  my 
adding  to  the  list. 

Nothing  can  be  seen  here  without  ceremony  and  preparation. 
Russian  hospitality  is  so  edged  round  with  formalities  as  to 
render  life  unpleasant  to  the  most  favoured  strangers.  It  is  a 
civil  pretext  for  restraining  the  movements  of  the  traveller,  and 
for  limiting  the  freedom  of  his  observations.  Owing  to  the  fasti- 
dious politeness  exercised  in  doing  the  honours  of  the  land,  the 
observer  can  inspect  nothing  without  a  guide ;  never  being  alone, 
he  has  the  greater  difficulty  in  forming  his  judgment  upon  his 
own  spontaneous  impressions;  and  this  is  what  is  desired.  To 
enter  Russia,  you  must,  with  your  passport,  deposit  also  your 
right  of  opinion  on  the  frontier.  Would  you  see  the  curiosities  of 
a  palace,  they  give  you  a  chamberlain,  with  whom  you  are  obliged 
to  view  every  thing,  and,  indiscriminately,  to  admire  all  that  he 
admires.  Would  you  survey  a  camp — an  officer,  sometimes  a 
general  officer,  accompanies  you  :  if  it  be  an  hospital,  the  head 
surgeon  escorts  you ;  if  a  fortress,  the  governor,  in  person,  shows 
it,  or  rather  politely  conceals  it  from  you ;  if  a  school,  or  any 
other  public  institution,  the  director  or  inspector  must  be  pre- 
viously apprised  of  your  visit,  and  you  find  him,  under  arms,  pre- 
pared to  brave  your  examination;  if  an  edifice,  the  architect 
himself  leads  you  over  the  whole  building,  and  explains  to  you  all 
that  you  do  not  care  to  know,  in  order  to  avoid  informing  you  on 
points  which  you  would  take  interest  in  knowing. 

All  this  Oriental  ceremony  leads  people  to  renounce  seeing 
many  things,  were  it  only  to  avoid  the  trouble  of  soliciting  admis- 
sions :  this  is  the  first  advantage  gained  !  but  if  curiosity  is  hardy 
enough  to  persist  in  importuning  official  personages,  it  is  at  least 
so  carefully  watched  in  its  perquisitions,  that  they  end  in  nothing. 


RESEMBLANCE    OF    RUSSIANS    TO    CHINESE.  209 

You  must  communicate  officially  with  the  heads  of  the  so»called 
public  establishments,  and  you  obtain  no  other  permission  than 
that  of  expressing  before  the  legitimate  authorities  the  admiration 
which  politeness,  prudence  and  a  gratitude  of  which  the  Russians 
are  very  jealous,  demand.  They  refuse  you  nothing,  but  they 
accompany  you  every  where  :  politeness  becomes  a  pretext  for 
maintaining  a  watch  over  you. 

In  this  manner  they  tyrannise  over  us  while  pretending  to  do 
us  honour.  Such  is  the  fate  of  privileged  travellers.  As  to  those 
who  are  not  privileged,  they  see  nothing  at  all.  The  country  is 
so  organised  that,  without  the  immediate  intervention  of  official 
persons,  no  stranger  can  move  about  agreeably,  or  even  safely. 
In  all  this,  will  be  recognised  the  manners  and  the  policy  of  the 
East,  disguised  under  European  urbanity.  Such  alliance  of  the 
East  and  the  West,  the  results  of  which  are  discoverable  at  every 
step,  is  the  grand  characteristic  of  the  Russian  empire. 

A  semi-civilisation  is  always  marked  by  formalities ;  refined 
civilisation  dispenses  with  them,  just  as  perfect  good  breeding 
banishes  affectation. 

The  Russians  are  still  persuaded  of  the  efficaciousness  of  false- 
hood ;  and  such  illusion  on  the  part  of  a  people  so  well  acquainted 
with  it,  amazes  me.  It  is  not  that  they  want  quick  perception, 
but  in  a  land  where  the  governors  do  not  yet  understand  the  ad- 
vantages of  liberty,  even  for  themselves,  the  governed  naturally 
shrink  from  the  immediate  inconvenience  of  truth.  One  is  mo- 
mentarily obliged  to  repeat  that  the  people  here,  great  and  small, 
resemble  the  Greeks  of  the  Lower  Empire. 

I  am  perhaps  not  sufficiently  grateful  for  the  attentions  which 
these  people  affect  to  lavish  upon  strangers  who  are  at  all  known ; 
but  I  cannot  help  seeing  below  the  surface,  and  I  feel,  in  spite  of 
myself,  that  all  their  eagerness  demonstrates  less  benevolence  than 
it  betrays  inquietude. 

They  wish,  in  accordance  with  the  judicious  precept  of  Mono- 
rnachus,  that  the  foreigner  should  leave  their  country  contented.* 
It  is  not  that  the  real  country  cares  what  is  said  or  thought  of  it ; 
it  is.  simply  that  certain  influential  families  are  possessed  with 
the  puerile  desire  of  reviving  the  European  reputation  of  Russia. 

If  I  look  farther,  I  perceive  under  the  veil  with  which  they 
seek  to  cloke  every  object,  a  love  of  mystery  for  its  own  sake. 
Jlere,  reserve  is  the  order  of  the  day,  just  as  imprudence  is  in 
Paris.  In  Russia,  secrecy  presides  over  every  thing ;  a  silence 

*  See  the  motto  in  the  title-page. 


210  DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    RUSSIANS    AND    FRENCH. 

that  is  superfluous  insures  the  silence  that  is  necessary ;  in  short, 
the  people  are  Chinese  disguised ;  they  do  not  like  to  avow  their 
aversion  to  foreign  observation,  but  if  they  dared  to  brave  the  re- 
proach of  barbarism,  as  the  true  Chinese  do,  access  to  Petersburg 
would  be  as  difficult  for  us  as  is  the  access  to  Pekin. 

My  reasons  for  wearying  of  Russian  hospitality  will  be  now  seen. 
Of  all  species  of  constraint  the  most  insupportable  to  me  is  that  of 
which  I  have  not  the  right  to  complain.  The  gratitude  I  feel  for 
the  attentions  of  which  I  am  here  the  object,  is  like  that  of  a 
soldier  who  is  made  to  serve  by  compulsion.  As  a  traveller  who 
specially  piques  himself  on  his  independence,  I  feel  that  I  am  pass- 
ing under  the  yoke;  they  trouble  themselves  unceasingly  to 
discipline  my  ideas,  and  every  evening  on  returning  to  my  quar- 
ters, I  have  to  examine  my  thoughts  to  ascertain  what  rank  they 
bear,  and  in  what  uniform  they  are  clothed. 

Having  carefully  avoided  intimacy  with  many  great  lords,  I 
have  hitherto  seen  nothing  thoroughly  except  the  court.  My 
wish  has  been  to  preserve  my  position  as  an  independent  and 
impartial  judge ;  I  have  feared  also  to  incur  accusations  of  in- 
gratitude or  want  of  good  faith ;  above  all,  I  have  feared  lest  I 
should  render  subjects  of  the  country  responsible  for  my  parti- 
cular opinions.  But,  at  the  court,  I  have  passed  in  review  all  the 
characteristics  of  society. 

There,  an  affectation  of  French  manners,  without  any  of  the 
tone  of  French  conversation,  first  struck  me.  It  conceals  a  caustic, 
sarcastic,  Russian  spirit  of  ridicule.  If  I  remained  here  any  time, 
I  would  tear  away  the  mask  from  these  puppets,  for  I  am  weary 
of  seeing  them  copy  French  grimaces.  At  my  age,  a  man  has 
nothing  more  to  learn  from  the  spectacle  of  affectation;  truth 
alone  can  always  interest,  because  it  imparts  knowledge ;  truth 
alone  is  always  new. 

I  observed  from  the  very  first,  that  the  Russians  of  the  lower 
classes,  who  are  suspicious  by  nature,  detest  foreigners  .through 
ignorance  and  national  prejudice  ;  I  have  observed  since,  that  the 
Russians  of  the  higher  classes,  who  are  equally  suspicious,  fear 
them,  because  they  believe  them  hostile:  "the  French  and  the 
English  are  persuaded  of  their  superiority  over  all  other  people  ;" 
this  idea  suffices  to  make  a  Russian  hate  foreigners,  on  the  same 
principle  that,  in  France,  the  Provincial  distrusts  the  Parisian. 
A  barbarian  jealousy,  an  envy,  puerile,  but  impossible  to  disarm, 
influences  the  greater  number  of  the  Russians  in  their  intercourse 
with  the  men  of  other  lands. 

The  Muscovite  character  is  in  many  respects  the  very  opposite 


RUSSIAN    HONESTY.  211 

of  the  German.  On  this  account  it  is  that  the  Russians  say  they 
resemble  the  French ;  but  the  analogy  is  only  apparent :  in  the 
inner  character  there  is  a  great  difference.  You  may,  if  you 
choose,  admire,  in  Russia,  pomp  and  Oriental  grandeur ;  you  may 
study  there  Greek  astuteness;  but  you  must  not  seek  for  the 
Gallic  naivete,  the  sociability  and  the  amiableness  of  the  French 
when  they  are  natural ;  though  I  admit  that  you  will  find  still  less 
of  the  good  faith,  the  sound  intelligence,  and  the  cordial  feeling  of 
the  German.  In  Russia,  you  may  meet  with  good  temper,  because 
it  is  to  be  met  with  wherever  there  are  men ;  but  good  nature  is 
never  seen. 

Every  Russian  is  born  an  imitator ;  he  is,  consequently,  a 
great  observer. 

This  talent  of  observation,  which  is  proper  to  a  people  in  its 
infancy,  often  degenerates  into  a  mean  system  of  espionage.  It 
produces  questions  often  importunate  and  unpolite,  and  which 
appear  intolerable,  coming  from  people  always  impenetrable  them- 
selves, and  whose  answers  are  seldom  more  than  evasions.  One 
would  say  that  friendship  itself  had  here  some  private  under- 
standing with  the  police.  How  is  it  possible  to  be  at  ease  with 
people  so  guarded  and  circumspect  respecting  all  which  concerns 
themselves,  and  so  inquisitive  about  others  ?  If  they  see  you 
assume,  in  your  intercourse  with  them,  manners  more  natural 
than  those  which  they  show  towards  you,  they  fancy  you  their 
dupe.  Beware,  then,  of  letting  them  see  you  off  your  guard, 
beware  of  giving  them  your  confidence :  to  men  who  are  without 
feeling  themselves,  it  is  an  amusement  to  observe  the  emotions  of 
others,  an  amusement  to  which  I,  for  one,  do  not  like  to  ad- 
minister. To  observe  our  manner  of  life  is  the  greatest  pleasure 
of  the  Russians ;  if  we  allowed  them,  they  would  amuse  them- 
selves by  striving  to  read  our  hearts,  and  analyse  our  sentiments, 
just  as  people  study  dramatic  representations  at  the  theatre. 

The  extreme  distrust  of  all  classes  here  with  whom  you  have 
any  business,  warns  you  to  be  circumspect ;  the  fear  that  you 
inspire  discloses  the  danger  that  you  run. 

The  other  day,  at  Peterhoff,  a  victualler  would  not  permit  my 
servant  to  provide  me  with  a  miserable  supper  in  my  actor's  box, 
without  being  previously  paid  for  it,  although  the  shop  of  this 
prudent  man  is  but  two  steps  from  the  theatre.  What  you  put  to 
your  lips  with  one  hand  must  be  paid  for  with  the  other ;  if  you 
were  to  give  a  commission  to  a  merchant  without  presenting  him 
with  money  in  advance,  he  would  believe  you  were  in  jest,  and 
would  not  undertake  your  business. 


212  THE    ONLY    SINCERE    RUSSIAN. 

No  one  can  leave  Russia  until  he  has  forewarned  all  his  cre- 
ditors of  his  intention,  that  is  to  say,  until  he  has  announced  his 
departure  three  times  in  the  gazettes,  at  an  interval  of  eight  days 
between  each  publication. 

This  is  strictly  enforced,  unless  at  least  you  pay  the  police  to 
shorten  the  prescribed  time,  and  even  then,  you  must  make  the 
insertion  once  or  twice.  No  one  can  obtain  post  horses  without  a 
document  from  the  authorities,  certifying  that  he  owes  nothing. 

So  much  precaution  shows  the  bad  faith  that  exists  in  the 
country ;  for  as,  hitherto,  the  Russians  have  had  little  personal 
intercourse  with  foreigners,  they  must  have  taken  lessons  in 
wariness  from  themselves  alone. 

Their  experience  is  only  such  as  their  position  with  regard  to 
each  other  can  teach  them.  These  men  will  not  allow  us  to 
forget  the  saying  of  their  favourite  sovereign,  Peter  the  Great, 
"  It  takes  three  Jews  to  cheat  a  Russian." 

At  each  step  that  you  advance  in  the  land,  you  recognise  the 
politics  of  Constantinople,  as  described  by  the  historians  of  the 
Crusades,  and  as  discovered  by  the  Emperor  Napoleon  in  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  of  whom  he  often  said,  "  He  is  a  Greek  of 
the  Lower  Empire."  Transactions  with  people  whose  founders 
and  instructors  have  always  been  the  sworn  foes  of  chivalry, 
should  be  avoided  as  much  as  possible.  Such  people  are  slaves 
to  their  interest,  and  lords  of  their  word.  Hitherto,  I  have  found 
in  the  whole  empire  of  Russia  but  one  person  who  appears  to  me 
to  be  sincere,  and  that  one,  I  take  pleasure  in  repeating,  is  the 
Emperor. 

I  own  it  costs  less  to  an  autocrat  to  be  candid  than  it  does  to 
his  subjects.  For  the  Czar  to  speak  without  disguise,  is  the 
performance  of  an  act  of  authority.  An  absolute  monarch  who 
flatters  and  prevaricates  must  abdicate. 

But  how  many  have  there  been  who,  on  this  point,  have  for- 
gotten their  power  and  their  dignity !  Base  minds  never  think 
themselves  above  falsehood :  we  may  therefore  admire  the  sin- 
cerity even  of  a  powerful  ruler.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  unites 
frankness  with  politeness,  and  in  him  these  two  qualities,  which 
are  never  seen  combined  in  the  vulgar,  wonderfully  act  and  re-act 
upon  each  other. 

Among  the  nobles,  those  who  do  possess  good  manners,  possess 
them  in  perfection.  The  proof  of  this  may  be  seen  daily  at  Paris 
and  elsewhere  ;  but  a  drawing-room  Russian  who  has  not  attained 
true  politeness,  that  is  to  say,  the  facile  expression  of  a  real 
amenity  of  character,  has  a  coarseness  of  mind  which  is  rendered 


THE    EMPEROR    NICHOLAS.  213 

doubly  shocking  by  the  false  elegance  of  his  language  and  man- 
ners. Such  ill-bred  and  yet  well-informed,  well-dressed,  clever, 
and  self-confident  Russians,  tread  in  the  steps  of  European  ele- 
gance, without  knowing  that  refinement  of  habits  has  no  value 
except  as  it  announces  the  existence  of  something  better  in  the 
heart  of  its  possessor.  These  apprentices  of  fashion,  who  con- 
found the  appearance  with  the  reality,  are  trained  bears,  the  sight 
of  which  inclines  ine  to  regret  the  wild  ones  :  they  have  not  yet 
become  polished  men,  although  they  are  spoiled  savages. 

As  there  is  such  a  place  as  Siberia,  and  as  it  is  appropriated 
to  the  uses  that  are  so  well  known,  I  could  wish  it  were  peopled 
with  fastidious  young  officers  and  capricious  fair  ladies  :  "  You 
want  passports  for  Paris,  you  shall  have  them  for  Tobolsk !  " 

In  this  manner  I  would  recommend  the  Emperor  to  check  the 
rage  for  travelling  which  is  making  fearful  progress  in  Russia, 
among  imaginative  sub-lieutenants  and  fanciful  women. 

If,  at  the  same  time,  he  were  to  restore  the  seat  of  his  empire 
to  Moscow,  he  would  repair  the  evil  caused  by  Peter  the  Great, 
as  far  as  one  man  may  atone  for  the  errors  of  generations. 

Petersburg,  a  city  built  rather  against  Sweden  than  for 
Russia,  ought  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  seaport,  a  Russian 
Dantzic.  Instead  of  this,  Peter  the  First  made  it  a  box 
from  which  his  chained  boyars  might  contemplate,  with  envy, 
the  stage  on  which,  is  enacted  the  civilisation  of  Europe;  a 
civilisation  which,  in  forcing  them  to  copy,  he  forbade  them  to 
emulate  ! 

Peter  the  Great,  in  all  his  works,  acted  without  any  regard 
to  humanity,  time,  or  nature. 

All  his  ideas,  with  the  faults  of  character  of  which  they  were 
the  consequence,  have  spread  and  multiplied  under  the  reigns  that 
followed.  The  Emperor  Nicholas  is  the  first  who  has  endeavoured 
to  stem  the  torrent,  by  recalling  the  Russians  to  themselves  :  an 
enterprise  that  the  world  will  admire  when  it  shall  have  recog- 
nised the  firmness  of  spirit  with  which  it  has  been  conceived. 
After  such  reigns  as  those  of  Catherine  and  Paul,  to  make  the 
Russia  left  by  the  Emperor  Alexander  a  real  Russian  empire ;  to 
speak  Russian,  to  think  as  a  Russian,  to  avow  himself  a  Russian 
— and  this,  while  presiding  over  a  court  of  nobles  who  are  the 
heirs  of  the  favourites  of  the  Semiramis  of  the  Nortli — is  an  act 
of  true  courage.  Whatever  may  be  the  result  of  the  plan,  it  does 
honour  to  him  who  devised  it. 

It  is  true  the  courtiers  of  the  Czar  have  no  acknowledged  nor 
assured  rights ;  but  they  are  still  strong  against  their  masters, 


214  AI3SURD    ARCHITECTURE. 

by  virtue  of  *he  perpetuated,  traditional  customs  of  the  country. 
Directly  to  rebuke  the  pretensions  of  these  men,  to  show  himself, 
in  the  course  of  a  reign  already  long,  as  courageous  against  hy- 
pocritical adherents  as  he  was  against  rebel  soldiers,  is  assuredly 
the  act  of  a  very  superior  monarch.  This  double  struggle  of  the 
sovereign  with  his  infuriated  slaves  on  the  one  hand,  and  his 
imperious  courtiers  on  the  other,  is  a  fine  spectacle.  The  Em- 
peror Nicholas  fulfils  the  promise  that  brightened  the  day  of  his 
elevation  to  the  throne,  and  this  is  saying  a  great  deal ;  for  no 
prince  assumed  the  reins  of  power  under  circumstances  more 
critical ;  none  ever  faced  an  imminent  danger  with  more  energy 
and  greatness  of  soul  ? 

After  the  insurrection  of  the  13th  December,  M.  de  la  Ferron- 
nays  exclaimed,  "  I  see  Peter  the  Great  civilised  !  "  an  observa- 
tion that  had  point,  because  it  had  truth.  In  contemplating  this 
prince  in  his  court,  developing  his  ideas  of  national  regeneration 
with  an  indefatigable,  yet  quiet,  unostentatious  perseverance,  one 
might  exclaim  with  still  greater  reason,  "  I  see  Peter  the  Great 
come  to  repair  the  faults  of  Peter  the  Blind." 

In  striving  to  form  a  judgment  of  the  present  Emperor  with 
all  the  impartiality  of  which  I  am  capable,  I  find  in  him  so  many 
things  worthy  of  praise,  that  I  do  not  suffer  myself  to  listen  to 
any  thing  that  might  .disturb  my  admiration. 

Kings  are  like  statues ;  people  examine  them  with  so  minute 
an  attention  that  their  smallest  faults,  magnified  by  criticism, 
cause  the  most  rare  and  genuine  merits  to  be  forgotten.  But  the 
more  I  admire  the  Emperor  Nicholas,  the  more  I  may  be  thought 
unjust  towards  the  Czar  Peter.  Nevertheless,  I  appreciate  the 
efforts  of  determination  that  were  needed  to  rear  a  city  like 
Petersburg  in  a  marsh,  frozen  during  eight  months  of  the  year  ; 
but  when  my  eyes  unfortunately  encounter  one  of  those  miserable 
caricatures  which  his  passion,  and  that  of  his  successors,  for  clas- 
sic architecture  has  entailed  upon  Russia,  my  shocked  senses  and 
taste  cause  me  to  lose  all  that  I  had  gained  by  reasoning.  An- 
tique palaces  for  barracks  of  Finns  ;  pillars,  cornices,  pediments, 
and  Roman  peristyles  under  the  pole,  and  all  to  be  renovated 
every  year  with  fine  white  stucco, — such  parodies  of  Greece  and 
Italy,  minus  the  marble  and  the  sun,  are,  it  must  be  allowed,  cal- 
culated to  revive  my  feelings  of  disgust.  Besides,  I  can  renounce 
with  the  greater  resignation,  the  title  of  impartial  traveller,  be- 
cause I  am  persuaded  that  I  still  have  a  right  to  it. 

Though  I  were  menaced  with  Siberia,  I  would  not  be  prevented 
repeating  that  the  want  of  good  sense  in  the  construction  of  a 


BEAUTY  OF  THE  QUAYS.  215 

building,  of  finish  and  of  harmony  in  its  details,  is  intolerable. 
In  architecture,  the  object  of  genius  is  to  find  the  most  short  and 
simple  means  of  adapting  edifices  to  the  uses  for  which  they  are 
destined.  Where,  then,  could  be  the  genius  of  men  who  have 
p?led  up  so  many  pilasters,  arcades,  and  colonnades,  in  a  land 
which  cannot  be  inhabited  for  nine  months  in  the  year  without 
double  sashes  to  windows  hermetically  closed  ?  At  Petersburg, 
it  is  under  ramparts  that  they  should  walk,  not  under  light  and 
airy  peristyles.  Vaulted  galleries  should  be  their  vestibules. 
The  heaven  is  their  enemy  ;  they  should  banish  therefore  the 
sight  of  it :  the  sun  will  not  vouchsafe  them  his  beams,  they 
should  live  by  torch-light.  With  their  Italian  architecture,  they 
set  up  claims  to  a  fine  climate,  and  this  only  renders  the  rains 
and  storms  of  their  summer  more  intolerable,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  icy  darts  that  are  respired  under  their  magnificent  porticoes 
during  the  interminable  winter  season.  The  quays  of  Petersburg 
are  among  the  finest  objects  in  Europe.  Why  ?  Their  splendour 
lies  in  their  solidity.  Mighty  blocks  of  granite  forming  founda- 
tions that  supply  the  place  of  mother  earth  !  the  eternity  of  mar- 
ble opposed  to  the  destructive  power  of  cold  ! — these  things  give 
me  an  idea  of  strength  and  of  greatness  which  is  intelligible. 
Petersburg  is  both  protected  from  the  Neva  and  embellished,  by 
the  magnificent  parapets  with  which  that  river  is  lined.  The 
soil  fails  us  ;  we  will  therefore  make  a  pavement  of  rocks  that 
shall  support  our  capital.  A  hundred  thousand  men  die  in  the 
attempt,  it  matters  not ;  we  have  now  an  European  city  and  the 
renown  of  a  great  people.  Here,  whilst  continuing  to  deplore 
the  inhumanity  that  has  presided  over  so  much  glory,  I  am  still 
compelled  to  admire.  I  admire  also  several  of  the  points  of  view 
that  may  be  obtained  before  the  Winter  Palace. 

Although  the  largest  structures  in  the  city  are  lost  in  a  space 
that  is  rather  a  plain  than  a  square,  the  palace  is  imposing ;  the 
style  of  architecture,  which  is  that  of  the  Regency,  has  an  air  of 
grandeur,  and  the  red  tint  of  the  stone  with  which  it  is  built  is 
not  displeasing  to  the  eye.  The  column  of  Alexander,  the  tri- 
umphal arch,  the  Admiralty,  Peter  the  Great  upon  his  rock,  the 
offices  of  the  ministers  (which  are  so  many  palaces) ;  and,  finally, 
the  wonderful  church  of  St.  Isaac,  facing  one  of  the  three  bridges 
thrown  over  the  Neva, — all  these  objects  within  the  circumfe- 
rence of  a  single  square,  are  not  beautiful  but  they  are  astonish- 
ingly great.  The  square,  called  the  Square  of  the  Palace,  is  in 
reality,  composed  of  three  immense  squares  all  formed  into  one  : 
Petrofskii,  Isaakskii,  and  the  Square  of  the  Winter  Palace.  I 


216  THE    CHURCHES. 

have  found  thore  much  to  criticise ;  but,  as  a  whole,  I  admire 
the  edifices,  lost  though  they  be  in  the  space  which  they  should 
adorn. 

I  have  ascended  the  brass  cupola  of  the  church  of  St.  Isaac. 
The  scaffoldings  of  this  dome,  which  is  one  of  the  loftiest  in  the 
world,  are,  in  themselves,  mighty  fabrics.  As  the  church  is  not 
finished,  I  cannot  form  an  idea  of  the  effect  that  it  will  have  as  a 
whole. 

From  the  summit  is  seen  St.  Petersburg,  its  flat  monotonous 
environs,  and  its  dull,  though  pompous,  wonders  of  art,  which  dis- 
gust me  with  human  miracles,  and  which  will  serve,  I  hope,  as  a 
lesson  to  princes  who  may  again  take  it  into  their  heads  to  despise 
nature  in  their  choice  of  sites  on  which  to  raise  their  capitals. 
Nations  would  scarcely  commit  such  errors  ;  they  are  ordinarily 
the  fruit  of  the  pride  of  sovereigns,  who  interpret  flattery  to  the 
letter,  and  view  themselves  as  endowed  with  real  creative  power. 
What  princes  least  fear  is  the  becoming  dupes  of  their  own  vanity. 
They  distrust  every  body  except  themselves. 

I  have  visited  several  churches  ;  that  of  the  Trinity  is  beau- 
tiful but  naked,  as  is  the  interior  of  nearly  all  the  Greek  churches 
that  I  have  seen.  To  make  up  for  this  the  exterior  of  the  dome 
is  clothed  with  azure  and  strewn  with  brilliant  gold  stars.  The 
cathedral  of  Kasan,  built  by  Alexander,  is  vast  and  beautiful ; 
but  its  entrance  is  placed  in  a  corner  of  the  building,  out  of  re- 
spect to  the  religious  law  which  obliges  the  Greek  altar  to  be  in- 
variably turned  towards  the  East.  The  street  not  running  in 
such  direction  as  to  allow  of  the  rule  being  obeyed  except  by 
placing  the  church  awry,  this  has  been  done ;  the  men  of  taste 
have  had  the  worst  of  it ;  the  faithful  have  carried  the  day,  and 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  in  Russia  has  been  spoiled  by 
superstition. 

The  church  of  Smolna  is  the  largest  and  most  magnificent  in 
Petersburg.  It  belongs  to  a  religious  community,  a  kind  of 
chapter  of  women  and  girls  founded  by  the  Empress  Anne.  Enor- 
mous buildings  form  the  residence  of  these  ladies.  The  noble 
asylum,  with  its  cloisters,  is  a  city  of  itself,  but  its  architecture 
would  be  more  appropriate  for  a  military  establishment  than  a 
religious  congregation  :  it  is  neither  like  a  convent  nor  a  palace  : 
it  is  a  barrack  for  women. 

In  Russia  every  thing  is  under  a  military  system ;  the  disci- 
pline of  the  army  reigns  even  in  the  chapter  of  the  ladies  of 
Smolna. 

Near  to  that  building  is  seen  the  little  palace  of  the  Taurida, 


ANTIQUE    STATUE. THE    HERMITAGE.  217 

built  in  a  few  weeks  by  Potemkin  for  Catherine.  The  palace  is 
elegant,  but  forsaken ;  and  in  this  country  what  is  forsaken  is 
soon  destroyed ;  even  the  stones  will  not  last,  except  on  condition 
of  their  being  cared  for.  A  winter  garden  occupies  one  side  of 
the  building.  It  is  a  magnificent  hothouse,  empty  at  the  present 
season,  and  I  believe  neglected  at  all  seasons.  Chandeliers  and 
other  signs  of  elegance,  old,  but  without  the  majesty  which  time 
imprints  on  the  true  antique,  prove  that  dances  and  suppers  have 
once  been  given  there.  The  last  ball,  I  believe,  which  the  Tau- 
rida  has  seen,  or  ever  will  see,  took  place  at  the  marriage  of  the 
Duchess  Helena,  wife  of  the  Grand  Duke  Michael. 

In  a  corner  stands  a  Venus  de  Medicis,  said  to  be  a  real  an- 
tique. This  model  has,  as  is  well  known,  been  often  reproduced 
by  the  Romans. 

The  statue  is  placed  upon  a  pedestal,  on  which  is  this  inscrip- 
tion in  Russian : — 

"  A  PRESENT  FROM  POPE  CLEMENT  XL 
TO  THE  EMPEROR  PETER  I. 

1717—1719." 

A  naked  Venus,  sent  by  a  pope  to  a  schismatic  prince,  is  cer- 
tainly a  singular  present.  The  Czar,  who  had  long  meditated  the 
project  of  eternising  schism,  by  usurping  the  last  rights  of  the 
Russian  Church,  must  have  smiled  at  such  a  testimony  of  the 
good-will  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 

I  have  seen  also  the  paintings  of  the  Hermitage,  but  I  can- 
not now  describe  them,  as  I  leave  to-morrow  for  Moscow.  The 
Hermitage  !  is  not  this  a  name  strangely  applied  to  the  villa  of  a 
sovereign,  placed  in  the  midst  of  his  capital,  close  to  the  palace 
where  he  resides !  A  bridge  thrown  across  a  street  leads  from 
one  residence  to  the  other. 

All  the  world  knows  that  there  are  here  some  choice  pieces, 
especially  of  the  Dutch  school ;  but  I  do  not  like  paintings  in 
Russia,  any  more  than  music  in  London,  where  the  manner  in 
which  they  listen  to  the  most  gifted  performers,  and  the  most 
sublime  compositions,  would  disgust  me  with  the  art. 

So  near  the  pole  the  light  is  unfavourable  for  seeing  pictures ; 
no  one  can  enjoy  the  admirable  shading  of  the  colours  with  eyes 
either  weakened  by  snow,  or  dazzled  by  an  oblique  and  continu- 
ous light.  The  hall  of  the  Rembrandts  is  doubtless  admirable ; 
nevertheless,  I  prefer  the  works  of  that  master  which  I  have  seen 
at  Paris  and  elsewhere. 

The  Claude  Lorraines,  the  Poussins,  and  some  works  of  the 
10 


218  PICTURE    GALLERY. 

Italian  masters,  especially  of  Mantegna,  Giambellini,  and  Salva- 
tor  Rosa,  deserve  to  be  mentioned. 

The  fault  of  the  collection  is,  the  great  number  of  inferior 
pictures  that  must  be  forgotten  in  order  to  enjoy  the  master-pieces. 
In  forming  the  gallery  of  the  Hermitage,  they  have  gathered 
together  a  profusion  of  names  of  the  great  masters  ;  but  this  does 
not  prevent  their  genuine  productions  from  being  rare.  These 
ostentatious  baptisms  of  very  ordinary  pictures  weary  the  vir- 
tuoso, without  deceiving  him.  In  a  collection  of  objects  of  art, 
the  contiguity  of  beauty  sets  off  the  beautiful,  and  that  of  infe- 
riority detracts  from  it.  A  judge  who  is  wearied,  is  incapable  of 
judging :  ennui  renders  him  unjust  and  severe. 

If  the  Rembrandts  and  the  Claude  Lorraines  of  the  Hermit- 
age produce  some  effect,  it  is  because  they  are  placed  in  halls 
where  there  are  no  other  pictures  near  them. 

The  collection  is  undoubtedly  fine ;  but  it  appears  lost  in  a 
city  where  there  are  so  few  that  can  enjoy  it. 

An  inexpressible  sadness  reigns  throughout  the  palace,  which 
has  been  converted  into  a  museum  since  the  death  of  her  who 
animated  it  by  her  presence  and  her  mind.  No  one  ever  better 
understood  familiar  life  and  free  conversation  than  did  that  abso- 
lute princess.  Not  wishing  to  resign  herself  to  the  solitude  to 
which  her  position  condemned  her,  she  discovered  the  art  of  con- 
versing familiarly  even  while  reigning  arbitrarily. 

The  finest  portrait  of  the  Empress  Catherine  which  exists,  is 
in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  Hermitage.  I  remarked  also  a  portrait 
of  the  Empress  Mary,  wife  of  Paul  I.,  by  Madame  Le  Brun. 
There  is,  by  the  same  artist,  a  Genius,  writing  upon  a  Shield. 
This  latter  work  is  one  of  her  best ;  its  colours,  defying  alike 
time  and  climate,  do  honour  to  the  French  school. 

At  the  entrance  of  one  hall,  I  found  behind  a  green  curtain 
the  social  rules  of  the  Hermitage,  for  the  use  of  those  intimate 
friends  admitted  by  the  Czarina  into  her  asylum  of  Imperial 
liberty. 

I  will  transcribe,  verbatim,  this  charter,  granted  to  social  in- 
timacy by  the  caprice  of  the  sovereign  of  the  once  enchanted 
place  :  it  was  copied  for  me  in  my  presence  : — 

RULES  TO  BE  OBSERVED  ON  ENTERING. 

ARTICLE    I. 

On  entering,  the  title  and  rank  must  be  put  off,  as  well  as 
the  hat  and  sword. 


CODE    OF    THE    EMPRESS    CATHERINE.  219 

ARTICLE    II. 

Pretensions  founded  on  the  prerogatives  of  birth,  pride,  or 
other  sentiments  of  a  like  nature,  must  also  be  left  at  the  door. 

ARTICLE    III. 

Be  merry  ;  nevertheless,  break  nothing  and  spoil  nothing. 

ARTICLE    IV. 

Sit,  stand,  walk,  do  whatever  you  please,  without  caring  for 
any  one. 

ARTICLE   V. 

Speak  with  moderation,  and  not  too  often,  in  order  to  avoid 
being  troublesome  to  others. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

Argue  without  anger  and  without  warmth. 

ARTICLE    VII. 

Banish  sighs  and  yawns,  that  you  may  not  communicate  ennui, 
or  be  a  nuisance  to  any  one. 

ARTICLE    VIII. 

Innocent  games,  proposed  by  any  member  of  the  society, 
must  be  accepted  by  the  others. 

ARTICLE    IX. 

Eat  slowly  and  with  appetite ;  drink  with  moderation,  that 
each  may  walk  steadily  as  he  goes  out. 

ARTICLE  x. 

Leave  all  quarrels  at  the  door  ;  what  enters  at  one  ear  must 
go  out  at  the  other  before  passing  the  threshold  of  the  Hermit- 
age. If  any  member  violate  the  above  rules,  for  each  fault  wit- 
nessed by  two  persons,  he  must  drink  a  glass  of  fresh  water 
(ladies  not  excepted]  :  furthermore,  he  must  read  aloud  a  page 
of  the  Telemachiad  (a  poem  by  Frediakofsky).  Whoever  fails 
during  one  evening  in  three  of  these  articles,  must  learn  by  heart 
six  lines  of  the  Telemachiad.  He  who  fails  in  the  tenth  article 
must  never  more  re-enter  the  Hermitage. 

Before  reading  the  above,  I  believed  the  Empress  Catherine 
bad  possessed  a  livelier  and  more  pointed  wit.  Is  this  a  simple 
pleasantry  ?  If  so  it  is  a  bad  oiie,  for  the  shortest  jokes  are  the 
best.  The  care  which  has  been  taken  to  preserve  the  statutes, 


220  THE    MINISTER    OK    WAR. 

as  though  of  great  value,  surprises  me  not  less  than  the  want  of 
good  taste  which  characterises  them. 

What  chiefly  provoked  my  laughter  on  reading  this  social 
code,  was  the  use  that  had  been  made  of  the  poem  of  Frediakof- 
sky.  Woe  to  the  poet  immortalised  by  a  sovereign  ! 

I  leave  to-morrow  for  Moscow. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Minister  of  War.— An  Evasi9n.— The  Fortress  of  Schlusselburg.— Formalities.— Trouble- 
some Politeness. — Hallucinations.— Kotzebue  in  Siberia.— The  Feldjager.— Manufactories 
of  Petersburg.— Houses  of  Russian  Peasants.— A  Russian  Inn. --Dirtiness  of  the  People. 
—The  Country  Women.— Bad  Roads.— The  Engineer  and  his  Wife.— The  Sluices  of 
Schlusselburg. — Union  of  the  Caspian  and  Baltic. — The  Source  of  the  Neva.— Inundations 
of  Petersburg. — The  Interior  of  the  Fortress  of  Schlusselburg.— The  Tomb  of  Ivan.— 
Anger  of  the  Commandant.— State  Prisoners.— A  Dinner  with  the  Middle  Classes  in  Rus- 
sia.— Natural  Causticity  of  the  People.— Polite  Conversation.— French  Modern  Literature 
Prohibited.— A  National  Dish.— Difference  in  the  Manners  of  the  Higher  and  Middle 
Classes. — Return  to  Petersburg. 

ON  the  day  of  the  fete  at  Peterhoff,  I  had  asked  the  minister  of 
war  what  means  I  should  take  in  order  to  obtain  permission  to 
see  the  fortress  of  Schlusselburg. 

This  grave  personage  is  the  count  Tchernicheff.  The  bril- 
liant aide-de-camp,  the  elegant  envoy  of  Alexander  at  the  court 
of  Napoleon,  is  become  a  sedate  man,  a  man  of  importance,  and 
one  of  the  most  active  ministers  of  the  empire.  Not  a  morning 
passes  without  his  transacting  business  with  the  Emperor.  He 
replied,  "  I  will  communicate  your  desire  to  His  Majesty." 
This  tone  of  prudence,  mingled  with  an  air  of  surprise,  made  me 
feel  that  the  answer  was  very  significative.  My  request,  simple 
as  I  had  thought  it,  was  evidently  an  important  one  in  the  eyes 
of  the  minister.  To  think  of  visiting  a  fortress  that  had  become 
historical  since  the  imprisonment  and  death  of  Ivan  VI.,  which 
took  place  in  the  reign  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth,  was  enormous 
presumption.  I  perceived  that  I  had  touched  a  tender  chord, 
and  said  no  more  on  the  subject. 

Some  days  after,  namely,  on  the  day  before  yesterday,  at  the 
moment  I  was  preparing  to  depart  for  Moscow,  I  received  a  let- 
ter from  the  minister  of  war,  announcing  permission  to  see  the 
sluices  of  Schlusselburg  ! 

The  ancient  Swedish  fortress,  called  the  key  of  the  Baltic  by 
Peter  I.,  is  situated  precisely  at  the  source  of  the  Neva,  on  an 


FORTRESS    OF    SCHLUSSELBURG.  221 

island  in  the  lake  of  Ladoga,  to  which  the  river  serves  as  a  natural 
canal,  that  carries  its  superfluous  waters  into  the  Gulf  of  Finland. 
This  canal,  otherwise  called  the  Neva,  receives,  however,  a  large 
accession  of  water,  which  is  considered  as  exclusively  the  source 
of  the  river,  and  which  rises  up  under  the  waves  immediately 
beneath  the  walls  of  the  fortress  of  Schlusselburg,  between  the 
river  and  the  lake.  The  spring  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
natural  curiosities  in  Russia ;  and  the  surrounding  scenery,  though 
very  flat,  like  all  other  scenery  in  the  country,  is  the  most  inter- 
esting in  the  environs  of  Petersburg. 

By  means  of  a  canal,  with  sluices,  boats  avoid  the  danger 
caused  by  the  spring  :  they  leave  the  lake  before  reaching  the 
source  of  the  Neva,  and  enter  the  river  about  half  a  league 
below. 

This  then  was  the  interesting  work  which  I  was  permitted  to 
examine. 

I  had  requested  to  see  a  state  prison ;  my  request  was  met 
by  a  permission  to  view  the  floodgates. 

The  minister  of  war  ended  his  note  by  informing  me  that  the 
aide-de-camp,  general  director  of  the  roads  of  the  empire,  had 
received  orders  to  give  me  every  facility  for  making  the  journey. 

Facility !  Good  heavens  !  to  what  trouble  had  my  curiosity 
exposed  me,  and  what  a  lesson  of  discretion  had  they  given  me, 
by  the  exhibition  of  so  much  ceremony,  qualified  by  so  much 
politeness !  Not  to  avail  myself  of  the  permission,  when  orders 
had  been  sent  respecting  me  throughout  the  route,  would  have 
been  to  incur  the  charge  of  ingratitude ;  yet  to  examine  the 
sluices  with  Russian  minuteness,  without  even  seeing  the  castle 
of  Schlusselburg,  was  to  fall  with  my  eyes  open  into  the  snare, 
and  to  lose  a  day ;  a  serious  loss,  at  this  already  advanced  sea- 
son, if  I  am  to  see  all  that  I  purpose  seeing  in  Russia,  without 
altogether  passing  the  winter  there. 

I  state  facts.  The  reader  can  draw  the  conclusions.  They 
have  not  here  yet  ventured  to  speak  freely  of  the  iniquities 
of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth.  Any  thing  that  might  lead  to  reflec- 
tion on  the  nature  of  the  legitimacy  of  the  present  power 
passes  for  an  impiety.  It  was  on  this  account  necessary  to  rep- 
resent my  request  to  the  Emperor.  He  would  neither  grant  it 
nor  directly  refuse  it ;  he  therefore  modified  it,  and  gave  me  per- 
mission to  admire  a  wonder  of  industry  which  I  had  no  intention 
of  seeing.  From  the  Emperor,  this  permission  was  forwarded  to 
the  minister,  from  the  minister  to  the  director-general,  from  the 
director-general  to  a  chief  engineer,  and,  finally,  to  a  sub-oflicer 


222  KOTZEBUE    IN    SIBERIA. 

commissioned  to  accompany  me,  to  officiate  as  my  guide,  and  to 
answer  for  my  safety  during  the  entire  journey  :  &  favour  which 
rather  reminds  one  of  the  janissary  with  whom  they  honoured 
foreigners  in  Turkey.  Such  protection  appears  too  much  like  a 
mark  of  distrust  to  flatter  me  as  much  as  it  irks  me,  and,  while 
crushing  in  my  hands  the  minister's  letter,  I  think  on  the  justice 
of  the  words  of  the  prince  whom  I  met  on  the  Travemiinde 
steam-boat,  and  with  him  am  ready  to  exclaim,  that  "  Russia  is 
the  land  of  useless  formalities  !  " 

I  proceeded  to  the  aide-de-camp,  general  director,  &c.  &c.  &c., 
to  claim  the  execution  of  the  supreme  command.  The  director 
was  not  at  home  ;  I  must  call  to  morrow.  Not  wishing  to  lose 
another  day,  I  persisted,  and  was  told  to  return  in  the  evening, 
when  I  was  received  with  the  usual  politeness,  and  after  a  visit 
of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  was  dismissed  with  the  necessary  orders 
for  the  engineer  of  Schlusselburg,  but  none  for  the  governor  of 
the  castle.  In  accompanying  me  to  the  antechamber,  he  promised 
that  a  sub-officer  should  be  at  my  door  on  the  morrow,  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning. 

I  did  not  sleep.  I  became  possessed  with  an  idea  that  will 
appear  sufficiently  foolish  ;  the  idea  that  my  guard  might  become 
my  gaoler.  If  this  man,  instead  of  conducting  me  to  Schlussel- 
burg, eighteen  leagues  from  Petersburg,  should,  when  we  had 
left  the  city,  exhibit  an  order  to  transport  me  to  Siberia,  that  I 
might  there  expiate  my  inconvenient  curiosity,  what  should  I 
say  or  do  ?  The  manifestations  of  politeness  by  no  means  re-as- 
sured me  :  on  the  contrary,  I  had  not  forgotten  the  smiles  and 
gracious  words  of  Alexander,  addressed  to  one  of  his  ministers, 
who  was  seized  by  the  feldjager,  at  the  door  even  of  the  Em- 
peror's cabinet,  and  carried  direct  from  the  palace  to  Siberia. 

Many  other  examples  of  sentences  and  executions  of  the  same 
character  occurred  to  justify  my  presentiments  and  to  disturb  my 
imagination. 

The  being  a  foreigner  was  not,  I  felt,  sufficient  guarantee.  I 
called  to  mind  the  carrying  off  of  Kotzebue,  who,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  century,  was  also  seized  by  a  feldjager,  and 
transported,  under  circumstances  similar  to  mine  (for  I  already 
felt  as  if  on  the  road),  from  Petersburg  to  Tobolsk.  What  had 
been  the  offence  of  Kotzebue  ?  He  had  made  himself  obnoxious 
because  he  had  published  his  opinions,  and  because  they  were 
not  all  thought  equally  favourable  to  the  order  of  things  es- 
tablished in  Russia.  Now  who  could  assure  me  that  I  had  not  in- 
curred the  same  reproach  ?  or,  which  would  be  sufficient,  the  same 


MANUFACTORIES    OF    PETERSBURG.  223 

suspicion  ?  If  I  give  the  least  umbrage  here,  can  I  hope  that 
they  will  have  more  regard  for  me  than  they  have  had  for  others  ? 
Besides,  I  am  watched  by  spies — every  foreigner  is.  They  know, 
therefore,  that  I  write,  and  carefully  conceal  my  papers ;  they 
are,  perhaps,  curious  to  know  what  these  papers  are  about. 

Such  were  the  fancies  that  possessed  me  the  whole  of  the 
night  before  larft ;  and  though  I  visited  yesterday,  without  any 
accident,  the  fortress  of  Schlusselburg,  they  are  not  so  entirely 
unreasonable  as  to  make  me  feel  quite  beyond  all  danger  for  the 
remainder  of  my  journey.  I  often  say  to  myself,  that  the  Rus- 
sian police,  prudent,  enlightened,  well-informed,  would  not  have 
recourse  to  any  coup  d'etat,  unless  they  believed  it  necessary, 
and  that  it  would  be  attaching  too  much  importance  to  my  person 
and  my  remarks,  to  suppose  that  they  could  be  capable  of  making 
uneasy  the  men  who  govern  so  great  an  empire.  Nevertheless, 
these  reasons  for  feeling  secure,  and  many  others  that  present 
themselves,  are  more  specious  than  solid :  experience  only  too 
clearly  proves  the  spirit  of  minutia  which  actuates  those  who  have 
too  much  power :  every  thing  is  of  importance  to  him  who  would 
conceal  the  fact  that  he  governs  by  fear,  and  whoever  depends  on 
opinion  must  not  despise  that  of  any  independent  man  who  writes  : 
a  government  which  lives  by  mystery,  and  whose  strength  lies  in 
dissimulation,  is  afraid  of  every  thing — every  thing  appears  to  it 
of  consequence :  in  short,  my  vanity  accords  with  my  reflection 
and  my  memory  of  past  events,  to  persuade  me  that  I  here  run 
some  danger. 

If  I  lay  any  stress  upon  these  inquietudes,  it  is  simply  be- 
cause they  describe  the  country.  As  regards  my  own  feelings, 
they  dissipate  as  soon  as  it  is  necessary  to  act.  The  phantoms  of 
a  sleepless  night  do  not  follow  me  upon  the  road  :  I  am  more  ad- 
venturous in  action  than  in  thought ;  it  is  more  difficult  for  me 
to  think  than  to  act  with  energy.  Motion  imparts  to  me  as  much 
courage  as  rest  inspires  me  with  doubt. 

Yesterday,  at  five  in  the  morning,  I  set  out  in  a  caleche,  drawn 
by  four  horses  harnessed  abreast.  Whenever  they  journey  into 
the  country,  the  Russian  coachmen  adopt  this  ancient  mode  of 
driving,  in  which  they  display  much  boldness  and  dexterity.  My 
feldjsiger  placed  himself  before  me,  by  the  side  of  the  coachman, 
and  we  quickly  traversed  St.  Petersburg,  soon  leaving  behind  us 
the  handsome  part  of  the  city,  and  next  passing  through  that  of 
the  manufactories,  among  which  are  magnificent  glass  works  and 
immense  mills  for  the  spinning  of  cotton  and  other  fabrics,  for  the 
most  part  directed  by  Englishmen.  This  quarter  of  the  city  re- 


224  HOUSES    OF    RUSSIAN    PEASANTS. 

sembles  a  colony.  As  a  man  is  only  appreciated  here  according 
to  his  standing  with  the  government,  the  presence  of  the  feldja- 
ger  on  my  carriage  had  a  great  effect.  Such  a  mark  of  supreme 
protection  made  me  a  person  of  consequence  in  the  eyes  of  my 
own  coachman,  who  had  driven  me  the  whole  of  the  time  that  I 
had  been  in  Petersburg.  He  appeared  suddenly  to  discover  and 
to  glory  in  the  too  long  concealed  dignity  of  his  master ;  his  looks 
testified  a  respect  that  they  had  never  done  before  :  it  seemed  as 
though  he  wished  to  indemnify  me  for  all  the  honours  of  which 
he  had,  mentally  and  in  ignorance,  hitherto  deprived  me. 

The  people  on  foot,  the  drivers  of  the  carts  and  droshkis,  all 
bowed  to  the  mystic  influence  of  my  sub-officer,  who,  with  a  sim- 
ple sign  of  his  finger,  made  every  obstruction  of  the  road  vanish 
like  magic.  The  crowd  was,  as  it  were,  annihilated  before  him  ; 
and  I  could  not  but  think,  if  he  had  such  power  to  protect  me, 
what  would  be  his  power  to  destroy  me,  if  he  had  received  an  or- 
der to  that  effect.  The  difficulty  attending  an  entrance  into  this 
country  wearies  more  than  it  awes  me  ;  the  difficulty  of  flying 
from  it  would  be  more  formidable.  People  say,  "  To  enter  Rus- 
sia, the  gates  are  wide  ;  to  leave  it,  they  become  narrow." 

Under  the  guard  of  my  soldier  I  rapidly  followed  the  banks 
of  the  river ;  frequent  views  of  which,  through  alleys  of  birch 
trees,  with  the  appearance  here  and  there  of  busy  manufactories, 
and  of  wooden  hamlets,  enlivened  the  landscapes,  and  made  the 
road  seem  less  monotonous  than  those  I  had  hitherto  travelled 
in  Russia  ;  not  that  the  scenery  was  picturesque  in  the  ordinary 
acceptation  of  the  word,  it  was  only  less  desolate  than  it  is  on 
the  other  side  of  the  city  :  besides,  I  have  a  predilection  for 
melancholy  landscapes ;  there  is  always  a  species  of  grandeur  in 
a  scene,  the  contemplation  of  which  produces  reverie.  I  prefer, 
as  regards  poetical  effect,  the  borders  of  the  Neva  to  the  plain 
between  Montmartre  and  St.  Denis,  or  the  rich  wheat  fields  of 
La  Beauce  and  La  Brie. 

The  appearance  of  several  villages  surprised  me ;  they  display 
signs  of  wealth,  and  even  a  sort  of  rustic  elegance,  which  is  very 
pleasing.  The  neat  wooden  houses  form  the  line  of  a  single  street. 
They  are  painted,  and  their  roofs  are  loaded  with  ornaments 
which  might  be  considered  rather  ostentatious,  if  a  comparison 
were  made  between  the  exterior  luxury  and  the  internal  lack  of 
conveniences  and  cleanliness  in  these  architectural  toys.  One 
regrets  to  see  a  taste  for  superfluities  among  a  people  not  yet 
acquainted  with  necessaries ;  besides,  on  examining  them  more 
closely,  the  habitations  are  discovered  to  be  ill  built. 


A    RUSSIAN    INN.  225 

Always  the  same  taste  for  what  addresses  the  eye  !  Both 
peasants  and  lords  take  more  pleasure  in  ornamenting  the  road, 
than  in  beautifying  the  interior  of  their  dwellings.  They  feed 
here  upon  the  admiration,  or  perhaps  the  envy,  which  they  excite. 
But  enjoyment,  real  enjoyment,  where  is  it  ?  The  Russians 
themselves  would  be  puzzled  to  answer  the  question. 

Wealth  in  Russia  is  the  food  of  vanity.  The  only  magnifi- 
cence that  pleases  me  is  that  which  makes  no  show,  and  I  there- 
fore find  fault  with  every  thing  here  which  they  wish  me  to  ad- 
mire. A  nation  of  decorators  will  never  inspire  me  with  any 
other  feeling  than  that  of  fearing  lest  I  should  become  their  dupe. 
On  entering  the  theatre  where  their  artificial  representations  are 
exhibited,  I  have  but  one  desire ;  that,  namely,  of  looking  be- 
hind the  curtain,  a  corner  of  which  I  am  ever  tempted  to  lift  up. 
I  came  to  see  a  country,  I  find  only  a  playhouse. 

I  had  ordered  a  relay  of  horses  ten  leagues  from  Petersburg. 
Four,  ready  harnessed,  awaited  me  in  a  village,  where  I  found  a 
kind  of  Russian  Venta*  which  I  entered.  It  was  the  first  time 
I  had  seen  the  peasants  in  their  own  houses. 

An  immense  wooden  shed,  plank  walls  on  three  sides,  plank 
flooring  and  plank  ceiling,  formed  the  hall  of  entrance,  and  occu- 
pied the  greater  part  of  the  rustic  dwelling.  Notwithstanding 
the  free  currents  of  air,  I  found  it  redolent  of  that  odour  of 
onions,  cabbages,  and  old  greasy  leather,  which  Russian  villages 
and  Russian  villagers  invariably  exhale. 

A  superb  stallion,  tied  to  a  post,  occupied  the  attention  of 
several  men,  who  were  engaged  in  the  difficult  task  of  shoeing 
him.  The  magnificent  but  untractable  animal  belonged,  I  was 
told,  to  the  stud  of  a  neighbouring  lord  :  the  eight  persons  who 
were  endeavouring  to  manage  him,  all  displayed  a  figure,  a  cos- 
tume, and  a  countenance,  that  were  striking.  The  population  of 
the  provinces  adjoining  the  capital  is  not,  however,  handsome  :  it 
is  not  even  Russian,  being  much  mixed  with  the  race  of  the 
Finns,  who  resemble  the  Laplanders. 

They  tell  me  that,  in  the  interior  of  the  empire,  I  shall  find 
perfect  models  of  Grecian  statues,  several  of  which  I  have  in- 
deed already  seen  in  Petersburg,  where  the  nobles  are  often  at- 
tended by  the  men  born  on  their  distant  estates. 

A  low  and  confined  room  adjoined  this  immense  shed  ;  it  re- 
minded me  of  the  cabin  of  some  river  boat ;  walls,  ceiling,  floor, 
seats,  and  tables,  were  all  made  of  wood  rudely  hewn.  The 
smell  of  cabbage  and  pitch  was  extremely  powerful. 

*  Venta,  a  Spanish  country  inn. — Trans. 


226  CHARACTER    OF    THE    RUSSIANS. 

In  this  retreat,  almost  deprived  of  air  and  light,  for  the  doors 
were  low,  and  the  windows  extremely  small,  I  found  an  old 
woman  busy  serving  tea  to  four  or  five  bearded  peasants,  clothed 
in  pelisses  of  sheep's  skin,  the  wool  of  which  was  turned  inwards, 
for  it  has  already,  and  for  some  days  past,  become  rather  cold.* 
These  men  were  of  short  stature.  Their  leathern  pelisses  were 
rather  tasteful  in  form,  but  they  were  very  ill  scented  ;  I  know 
nothing  except  the  perfumes  of  the  nobles  that  could  be  more  so. 
On  the  table  stood  a  bright  copper  kettle  and  a  teapot.  The  tea 
is  always  of  good  quality,  well  made,  and,  if  it  is  not  preferred 
pure,  good  milk  is  every  where  to  be  obtained.  This  elegant 
beverage  served  up  in  barns,  I  say  barns  for  politeness-sake, 
reminds  me  of  the  chocolate  of  the  Spaniards.  It  forms  one  of 
the  thousand  strange  contrasts  with  which  the  traveller  is  struck 
at  every  step  he  takes  among  these  two  people,  equally  singular, 
though  in  most  of  their  ways  as  different  as  the  climates  they 
inhabit. 

I  have  often  said  that  the  Russian  people  have  a  sentiment 
of  the  picturesque :  among  the  groups  of  men  and  animals  that 
surrounded  me  in  this  interior  of  a  Russian  farm-house,  a  painter 
would  have  found  subjects  for  several  charming  pictures. 

The  red  or  blue  shirt  of  the  peasants  is  buttoned  over  the 
collar-bone,  and  drawn  close  round  the  loins  by  a  sash,  above 
which  it  lies  in  antique  folds,  and  below,  forms  an  open  tunic 
that  falls  over  the  pantaloon.  The  long  Persian  robe,  often  left 
open,  which  when  the  men  do  not  work,  partly  covers  this  blouse, 
the  hair  worn  long  and  parted  on  the  forehead,  but  cut  close 
behind  rather  higher  than  the  nape,  so  as  to  discover  all  the 
strength  of  the  neck — does  not  this  form  an  original  and  graceful 
picture  ?  The  wild,  yet,  at  the  same  time,  gentle  expression  of 
the  Russian  peasants  also  possesses  grace  ;  their  elegant  forms, 
their  suppleness,  their  broad  shoulders,  the  sweet  smile  of  the 
mouth,  the  mixture  of  tenderness  and  ferocity  which  is  discern- 
ible in  their  wild  and  melancholy  look,  render  their  general  ap- 
pearance as  different  from  that  of  our  labourers  as  the  land  they 
cultivate  differs  from  the  rest  of  Europe.  Every  thing  is  new 
here  to  a  stranger.  The  natives  possess  a  certain  charm  which 
can  be  felt  though  not  expressed :  it  is  the  Oriental  langour 
combined  with  the  romantic  reverie  of  a  northern  people ;  and 
all  this  is  exhibited  in  an  uncultured  yet  noble  form,  which  im- 
parts to  it  the  merit  of  a  primitive  endowment.  These  people 

*  This  is  the  1st  of  August 


THE    COUNTRY    WOMEN.  227 

inspire  much  more  interest  than  confidence.  The  common  orders 
in  Russia  are  amusing  knaves  :  they  may  be  easily  led  if  they  are 
not  deceived  ;  but  as  soon  as  they  see  that  their  masters  or  their 
masters'  agents  lie  more  than  themselves,  they  plunge  into  the 
lowest  depths  of  falsehood  and  meanness.  They  who  would 
civilise  a  people  must  themselves  possess  worth  of  character — 
the  barbarism  of  the  serf  accuses  the  corruptness  of  the  noble. 

If  the  reader  be  surprised  at  the  ill-nature  of  my  judgments, 
he  will  yet  be  more  so  when  I  add  that  I  do  but  express  the 
general  opinion  ;  the  only  difference  is,  that  I  express  openly 
what  every  one  here  conceals,  with  a  prudence  that  none  would 
be  surprised  at  if  they  saw,  as  I  do,  to  what  extent  this  virtue  of 
prudence,  which  excludes  so  many  others,  is  necessary  to  those 
who  live  in  Russia. 

Dirtiness  is  very  conspicuous  in  the  country,  but  that  of  the 
houses  and  the  clothes  strikes  me  more  than  that  of  the  individ- 
uals. The  Russians  take  much  care  of  their  persons.  Their 
vapour  baths,  it  is  true,  appear  to  us  disgusting;  and  I  should 
for  myself  much  prefer  the  contact  of  pure  water ;  still,  these 
boiling  fogs  cleanse  and  strengthen  the  body,  though  they  wrinkle 
the  skin  prematurely.  By  virtue  of  their  use,  the  peasants  may 
be  often  seen  with  clean  beards  and  hair,  when  as  much  cannot 
be  said  for  their  garments.  Warm  clothing  costs  money,  and 
has  to  be  worn  a  long  time ;  the  rooms  also,  in  which  they  think 
only  of  protecting  themselves  from  the  cold,  are  necessarily  less 
aired  than  those  of  southern  people.  Of  the  air  that  purifies,  the 
Russians  are  deprived  for  nine  months  in  the  year,  so  that  their 
dirtiness  is  rather  the  inevitable  effect  of  their  climate  than  of 
their  negligence. 

In  some  districts  the  workpeople  wear  a  cap  of  blue  cloth, 
bulging  out  in  the  shape  of  a  balloon.  They  have  several  other 
species  of  head-dress,  all  pleasing  to  the  eye,  and  showing  good 
taste  as  compared  with  the  saucy  affectation  of  negligence,  visible 
among  the  lower  orders  in  the  environs  of  Paris. 

When  they  work  bare-headed,  they  remedy  the  inconvenience 
of  their  long  hair  by  binding  it  with  a  kind  of  diadem,  or  fillet 
made  of  a  riband,  a  wreath  of  rushes,  or  of  some  other  simple 
material,  always  placed  with  care,  and  which  looks  well  on  the 
young  people ;  for  the  men  of  this  race  have  in  general  finely 
formed  oval  heads,  so  that  their  working  head-dress  becomes  an 
ornament. '  But  what  shall  I  say  of  the  women  ?  All  whom  I 
have  hitherto  seen  have  appeared  to  me  repulsive :  I  had  hoped 
in  this  excursion  to  have  met  some  fair  villagers ;  but  here,  as  at 


228  BAD    ROADS. 

Petersburg,  they  are  broad  and  short  in  figure,  and  they  gird 
their  forms  at  the  shoulders,  a  little  above  the  bosom,  which 
spreads  freely  under  the  petticoat.  It  is  hideous  !  Add  to  this 
voluntary  deformity,  large  men's  boots,  and  a  species  of  riding 
coat,  or  jacket  of  sheep's  skin,  similar  to  the  pelisses  of  their 
husbands,  but,  doubtless  through  a  laudable  economy,  much  less 
gracefully  cut,  and  far  more  worn  ;  falling  indeed  literally  in 
rags — such  is  their  toilette.  Assuredly,  there  is  no  part  of  the 
world  where  the  fair  sex  so  completely  dispenses  with  coquettish 
finery  as  in  Russia  (I  speak  only  of  the  female  peasants,  and  of 
the  corner  of  the  land  that  I  have  seen).  Nevertheless,  these 
women  are  the  mothers  of  the  soldiers  of  which  the  emperor  is' so 
proud,  and  of  the  handsome  coachmen  of  the  streets  of  Peters- 
burg. 

It  should  be  observed  that  the  greater  number  of  the  women 
in  the  government  of  Petersburg  are  of  Finnish  extraction.  I 
am  told  that  in  the  interior  of  the  country  I  shall  see  very  good- 
looking  female  peasants. 

The  road  from  Petersburg  to  Schlusselburg  is  bad  in  many 
parts :  there  are  sometimes  deep  beds  of  sand,  sometimes  holes  of 
mud  to  be  passed,  over  which  planks  have  been  very  uselessly 
thrown.  Still  worse  are  the  small  logs  of  wood  rudely  laid  across 
each  other,  on  certain  marshy  portions  of  the  route,  which  would 
swallow  up  any  other  foundation.  This  rustic,  ill-joined,  and 
movable  flooring  dances  under  the  wheels ;  and  frequent  broken 
bones  and  broken  carriages  on  Russian  grandes  routes,  testify  to 
the  wisdom  of  reducing  equipages  to  their  most  simple  forms,  to 
something  about  as  primitive  as  the  telega.  I  observed  also 
several  dilapidated  bridges,  one  of  which  seemed  dangerous  to 
pass  over.  Human  life  is  a  small  matter  in  Russia.  With 
sixty  millions  of  children,  how  can  there  be  the  bowels  of  a 
father  ? 

On  my  arrival  at  Schlusselburg,  where  I  was  expected,  the 
engineer  who  has  the  direction  of  the  sluices,  received  me. 

The  weather  was  raw  and  gloomy.  My  carriage  stopped 
before  the  comfortable  wood-house  of  the  engineer,  who  led  me 
himself  into  a  parlour,  where  he  offered  me  a  light  collation,  and 
presented  me,  with  a  kind  of  conjugal  pride,  to  a  young  and 
handsome  person,  his  wife.  She  sat  all  alone  upon  a  sofa,  from 
which  she  did  not  rise  on  my  entering.  Not  understanding 
French,  she  remained  silent,  and  also  motionless,  I  cannot  tell 
why,  unless  she  mistook  immovability  for  good  breeding,  and 
starched  airs  for  taste.  Her  object  seemed  to  be  to  represent, 


SLUICES    OF    SCHLUSSELBURG.  229 

before  me,  the  statue  of  hospitality  clothed  in  white  muslin  over 
a  pink  petticoat.  I  ate  and  warmed  myself  in  silence  :  she 
watched  me  without  daring  to  take  away  her  eyes,  for  this  would 
be  to  move  them,  and  immobility  was  the  part  she  had  to  per- 
form. If  I  had  suspected  there  could  be  timidity  at  the  bottom 
of  this  singular  reception,  I  should  have  experienced  sympathy, 
and  felt  only  surprise ;  but  I  could  hardly  be  deceived  in  such  a 
case,  for  I  am  familiar  with  timidity. 

My  host  suffered  me  to  contemplate  at  leisure  this  curious 
image  of  rosy  wax-work,  dressed  up  in  order  to  dazzle  the  stranger, 
though  it  confirmed  him  only  in  his  opinion  that  the  women  of 
the  North  are  seldom  natural.  The  worthy  engineer  seemed 
nattered  with  the  effect  that  his  wife  produced  on  me.  He  took 
my  wonder  for  admiration ;  nevertheless,  desirous  of  conscien- 
tiously acquitting  himself  of  his  duty,  he  at  length  said,  "  I 
regret  to  disturb  you,  but  we  have  scarcely  sufficient  time  to 
visit  the  works  which  I  have  received  an  order  to  show  you  in 
detail." 

I  had  foreseen  the  blow,  without  being  able  to  parry  it.  I 
therefore  submitted  with  resignation,  and  suffered  myself  to  be 
led  from  sluice  to  sluice,  my  mind  still  dwelling  with  useless 
regret  upon  the  fortress,  that  tomb  of  the  youthful  Ivan,  which 
they  would  not  suffer  me  to  approach.  It  will  be  seen  shortly 
how  this  secret  object  of  my  journey  was  attained. 

To  enumerate  all  the  structures  of  granite  that  I  have  seen 
this  morning,  the  floodgates  fixed  in  grooves  worked  in  blocks  of 
that  stone,  the  flags,  of  the  same  material,  employed  as  the  pave- 
ment of  a  gigantic  canal,  would  fortunately  little  interest  the 
reader  ;  it  will  suffice  him  to  know  that  during  the  ten  years  that 
have  elapsed  since  the  first  sluices  were  finished,  they  have  re- 
quired no  repairs.  This  is  an  astonishing  instance  of  stability  in 
a  climate  like  that  of  Lake  Ladoga.  The  object  of  this  magnifi- 
cent work  is  to  equalise  the  difference  of  the  level  between  the 
canal  of  Ladoga  and  the  course  of  the  Neva  near  to  its  source. 
With  this  object,  sluices  have  been  multiplied  without  reference 
to  cost,  in  order  to  render  as  easy  and  prompt  as  possible  a  navi- 
gation that  the  rigour  of  the  seasons  leaves  open  only  for  three 
or  four  months  in  the  year. 

Nothing  has  been  spared  to  perfect  the  solidity  and  the  pre- 
cision of  the  work.  The  granite  of  Finland  has  been  used  for 
the  bridges,  the  parapets,  and  even,  I  repeat  it  with  admiration, 
for  lining  the  bed  of  the  canal ;  in  short,  all  the  improvements 
of  modern  science  have  been  had  recourse  to,  in  order  to  com- 


230  UNION    OF    THE    CASPIAN    AND    BALTIC. 

plete  at  Schlusselburg,  a  work  as  perfect  in  its  kind  as  the  rigours 
of  the  climate  will  permit. 

The  interior  navigation  of  Russia  deserves  the  attention  of 
all  scientific  and  commercial  men  ;  it  constitutes  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal sources  of  the  riches  of  the  land.  By  means  of  a  series  of 
canals,  the  entire  extent  of  which  is,  like  every  other  undertaking 
in  the  country,  colossal,  they  have,  since  the  reign  of  Peter  the 
Great,  succeeded  in  joining,  so  as  to  form  a  safe  navigation  for 
boats,  the  Caspian  with  the  Baltic,  by  the  Volga,  Lake  Ladoga, 
and  the  Neva.  This  enterprise,  bold  in  conception,  prodigious 
in  execution,  is  now  completed,  and  forms  one  of  the  wonders  of 
the  civilised  world.  Although  thus  magnificent  to  contemplate, 
I  found  it  rather  tedious  to  inspect,  especially  under  the  conduct 
of  one  of  the  executors  of  the  chef-cVceuvre.  The  professional 
man  invests  his  work  with  the  importance  which  no  doubt  it 
merits ;  but  for  a  mere  general  observer,  like  myself,  admiration 
is  extinguished  under  minute  details, — details  which,  in  the  pre- 
sent case,  I  will  spare  the  reader. 

When  I  believed  I  had  strictly  accorded  the  time  and  the 
praise  that  were  due  to  the  wonders  I  was  obliged  to  pass  in  re- 
view, I  returned  to  the  original  motive  of  my  journey,  and,  dis- 
guising my  object  in  order  the  better  to  attain  it,  I  asked  per- 
mission to  see  the  source  of  the  Neva,  This  wish,  the  apparent 
innocence  of  which  could  not  conceal  the  indiscretion,  was  at  first 
eluded  by  the  engineer,  who  replied,  ."  It  rises  up  under  the  wa- 
ter, at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Ladoga,  near  the  island  on  which  stands 
the  fortress." 

I  knew  this  already,  but  replied  :  "  It  is  one  of  the  natural 
curiosities  of  Russia.  Are  there  no  means  of  approaching  the 
spring  ?" 

"  The  wind  is  too  high  ;  we  could  not  see  the  bubbling  up  of 
the  waters.  It  is  necessary  that  the  weather  be  calm  in  order 
that  the  eye  may  distinguish  a  fountain  which  rises  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  waves ;  nevertheless,  I  will  do  what  I  can  in  order  to 
satisfy  your  curiosity." 

At  these  words,  the  engineer  ordered  a  very  pretty  boat  to 
be  manned  with  six  rowers,  who  were  handsomely  clad.  We 
immediately  proceeded,  as  was  said,  to  visit  the  source  of  the 
Neva,  but,  in  reality,  to  approach  the  walls  of  the  strong  castle, 
or  rather  the  enchanted  prison  to  which  I  had  been  refused  access 
with  so  artful  a  politeness.  But  the  difficulties  only  served  to 
excite  my  desire :  had  I  had  the  power  to  give  deliverance  to 
some  unhappy  prisoner,  my  impatience  could  scarcely  have  been 
more  lively. 


INUNDATIONS    OF    PETERSBURG.  231 

The  fortress  of  Schlusselburg  is  built  on  a  flat  island,  a  kind 
of  rock,  very  little  elevated  above  the  level  of  the  water.  This 
rock  divides  the  river  in  two  parts  ;  it  also  serves,  properly 
speaking,  to  separate  the  river  from  the  lake,  for  it  indicates  the 
point  where  the  waters  mingle.  We  rowed  round  the  fortress  in 
order,  as  was  said,  to  approach  as  nearly  as  possible  the  source  of 
the  Neva.  Our  rowers  soon  brought  us  immediately  over  the 
vortex.  They  handled  their  oars  so  well  that,  notwithstanding 
the  rough  weather  and  the  smallness  of  our  boat,  we  scarcely  felt 
the  heave  of  the  waves,  which,  nevertheless,  rolled  at  this  spot 
as  much  as  in  the  open  sea.  Being  unable  to  distinguish  the 
source,  which  was  concealed  by  the  motion  of  the  billows,  we  took 
a  turn  on  the  lake  ;  after  which,  the  wind,  having  rather  lulled, 
permitted  our  seeing,  at  a  considerable  depth,  a  few  waves  of 
foam.  This  was  the  spring  of  the  Neva,  above  which  our  boat 
rode. 

When  the  west  wind  drives  back  the  waters  of  the  lake,  the 
channel  which  serves  as  its  outlet  remains  almost  dry,  and  then 
this  beautiful  spring  is  fully  exposed.  On  such  occasions,  which 
are  fortunately  very  rare,  the  inhabitants  of  Schlusselburg  know 
that  Petersburg  is  under  water.  The  news  of  such  catastrophe 
never  fails  to  reach  them  on  the  morrow  ;  for  the  same  west  wind 
which  causes  the  reflux  of  the  waters  of  Lake  Ladoga,  and  leaves 
dry  the  channel  of  the  Neva  near  its  source,  drives  also,  when  it 
is  violent,  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of  Finland  into  the  mouth  of 
the  river.  The  course  of  this  stream  is  therefore  stopped,  and 
the  water,  finding  its  passage  obstructed  by  the  sea,  makes  a  way 
by  overflowing  Petersburg  and  its  environs. 

When  I  had  sufficiently  admired  the  site  of  Schlusselburg, 
sufficiently  surveyed,  with  a  spy-glass,  the  position  of  the  battery 
which  Peter  the  Great  raised  to  bombard  the  strong  fort  of  the 
Swedes,  and  sufficiently  praised  every  thing  which  scarcely  in- 
terested me,  I  said,  in  the  most  careless  manner  imaginable, 
"  Let  us  go  and  see  the  interior  of  the  fortress  :" — "  its  situation 
appears  extremely  picturesque,"  I  added,  a  little  less  adroitly  : 
for  in  matters  of  finesse  it  is,  above  all,  necessary  to  avoid  over- 
shooting the  mark.  The  Russian  cast  upon  me  a  scrutinising 
look,  of  which  I  felt  the  full  force.  This  diplomatic  mathemati- 
cian answered  : 

"  The  fortress,  sir,  possesses  no  object  of  curiosity  for  a  for- 
eigner." 

"  Never  mind  :  everything  is  curious  in  so  interesting  a  land 
ns  yours." 


232  INTERIOR    OF    THE    FORTRESS    OF    SCHLUSSELBERG. 

"  But  if  the  governor  does  not  expect  us,  we  shall  not  be  suf- 
fered to  enter." 

"  You  can  ask  his  permission  to  introduce  a  traveller  into  the 
fortress ;  besides,  I  rather  believe  he  does  expect  us." 

In  fact,  we  were  admitted  at  the  first  application  of  the  engi- 
neer ;  which  leads  me  to  surmise  that  my  visit,  if  not  announced 
as  certain,  was  indicated  as  probable. 

We  were  received  with  military  ceremony,  conducted  under  a 
vault,  through  a  gate  ill  defended,  and  after  crossing  a  court  over- 
grown with  grass,  we  were  introduced  into — the  prison  ?  Alas  ! 
no  :  into  the  apartments  of  the  governor.  He  scarcely  spoke 
a  word  of  French,  but  he  received  me  with  civility,  affecting  to 
take  ray  visit  as  an  act  of  politeness  of  which  he  himself  was  the 
object,  and  expressing  to  me  his  acknowledgments  through  the 
engineer,  accordingly.  These  crafty  compliments  were  by  no 
means  satisfactory.  There  I  was,  obliged  to  talk  to  the  wife  of 
the  commandant,  who  spoke  a  little  more  French  than  her  hus- 
band, to  sip  chocolate,  in  short,  to  do  every  thing  except  visit 
the  prison  of  Ivan — that  imaginary  prize,  for  the  sake  of  which  I 
had  endured  all  the  toils,  the  artifices,  and  the  wearisome  civil- 
ities of  the  day. 

At  length,  when  the  reasonable  time  for  a  call  had  expired,  I 
asked  my  companion  if  it  was  possible  to  see  the  interior  of  the 
fortress.  Several  words  and  significant  glances  were  hereupon 
exchanged  between  the  commandant  and  the  engineer,  and  we  all 
left  the  chamber. 

I  fancied  myself  at  the  crowning  point  of  all  my  labours.  The 
fortress  of  Schlusselburg  is  not  picturesque  :  it  is  a  girdle  of 
Swedish  walls  of  small  elevation,  and  the  interior  of  which  forms 
a  kind  of  orchard,  wherein  are  dispersed  several  very  low  build- 
ings ;  including  a  church,  a  house  for  the  commandant,  a  barrack, 
arid  the  dungeons,  masked  by  windows  the  height  of  which  does 
not  exceed  that  of  the  rampart.  Nothing  announces  violence  or 
mystery.  The  appearance  of  this  quiet  state  prison  is  more  ter- 
rible to  the  imagination  than  to  the  eye.  Gratings,  drawbridges, 
battlements,  and  all  the  somewhat  theatrical  apparatus  of  the  cas- 
tles of  the  middle  ages,  are  not  here  to  be  seen.  The  governor 
commenced  by  showing  me  the  superb  monuments  of  the  church  ! 
The  four  copes,  which  were  solemnly  displayed  before  me,  cost, 
as  the  governor  himself  took  the  trouble  to  say,  thirty  thousand 
rubles.  Tired  of  such  sights,  I  simply  asked  him  for  the  tomb 
of  Ivan  VI.  They  replied  by  showing  me  a  breach  made  in  the 
wall  by  the  cannon  of  the  Czar  Peter,  when  he  conducted  in  per- 
son the  seige  of  the  key  of  the  Baltic. 


ANGER    OF    THE    COMMANDANT.  233 

"  The  tomb  of  Ivan,"  I  continued,  without  suffering  myself 
to  be  disconcerted,  "  where  is  it  ?  "  This  time  they  conducted 
me  behind  the  church,  and,  pointing  to  a  rose  brier,  said,  "  It  is 
here." 

I  conclude  that  victims  are  allowed  no  tomb  in  Russia. 

"  And  the  chamber  of  Ivan,"  I  continued  with  a  pertinacity 
which  must  have  appeared  as  singular  to  my  guides,  as  their 
.scruples,  reserve,  and  tergiversations  appeared  to  me. 

The  engineer  answered,  in  a  low  voice,  that  they  could  not 
show  the  chamber  of  Ivan,  because  it  lay  in  a  part  of  the  fortress 
then  occupied  by  state  prisoners. 

The  excuse  was  legitimate ;  I  had  expected  it;  but  what  sur- 
prised me  was  the  wrath  of  the  commandant.  Whether  it  was 
that  he  understood  French  better  than  he  spoke  it,  or  that  he  had 
only  feigned  ignorance  of  our  language,  he  severely  reprimanded 
my  guide,  whose  indiscretion,  he  added,  would  some  day  ruin  him. 
This,  the  latter,  annoyed  with  the  lecture  he  had  received,  found 
a  favourable  opportunity  of  telling  me,  stating  also  that  the  go- 
vernor had  warned  him,  in  a  very  significant  manner,  to  abstain 
henceforward  from  speaking  of  public  affairs,  and  from  intro- 
ducing foreigners  to  state  prisons.  This  engineer  has  all  the 
qualities  necessary  to  constitute  a  good  Russian  ;  but  he  is  young, 
and  does  not  yet  understand  the  mysteries  of  his  trade — it  is  not 
of  his  profession  as  an  engineer  that  I  speak. 

I  found  it  was  necessary  to  yield ;  I  was  the  weakest ;  and, 
therefore,  owning  myself  vanquished,  I  renounced  the  hope  of 
visiting  the  room  where  the  unhappy  heir  of  the  throne  of  Russia 
died  imbecile,  because  it  was  found  more  convenient  to  make  him 
an  idiot  than  an  emperor.  I  cannot  sufficiently  express  my  as- 
tonishment at  the  manner  in  which  the  Russian  government  is 
served  by  its  agents.  I  remember  the  countenance  of  the  minis- 
ter of  war,  the  first  time  that  I  ventured  to  testify  a  wish  to  visit 
a  castle  that  had  become  historical  by  a  crime  committed  in  the 
times  of  the  Empress  Elizabeth ;  and  I  compare,  with  a  wonder 
mixed  with  fear,  the  disorder  of  ideas  that  reigns  among  us,  with 
the  absence  of  all  private  views,  of  all  personal  opinion — the 
blind  submission,  in  short,  which  forms  the  rule  of  conduct  among 
all,  whether  heads  or  subordinates,  who  carry  on  the  administra- 
tion of  affairs  in  Russia.  The  unity  of  action  observable  in  this 
government  astounds  me.  I  admire,  while  I  shudder,  the  tacit 
accord  with  which  both  superior  and  inferior  employes  act  in 
making  war  against  ideas  and  even  events.  At  the  time, 
this  sentiment  made  me  as  impatient  to  leave  the  fortress  of 


234  A    RUSSIAN    FORTRESS. 

Schlusselburg  as  I  had  been  eager  to  enter  it.  I  began  to  fear 
lest  I  should  become  by  force  one  of  the  inmates  of  that  abode 
of  secret  tears  and  unknown  sorrows.  In  my  ever-increasing  sense 
of  its  oppressive  influence,  I  longed  only  for  the  physical  pleasure 
of  walking  and  breathing  beyond  its  limits.  I  forgot  that  the 
country  into  which  I  should  return  was  in  itself  a  prison ;  a  prison 
whose  vast  size  only  makes  it  the  more  formidable. 

A  Russian  fortress  ! — this  word  produces  on  the  imagination 
an  impression  very  different  to  that  which  is  felt  in  visiting  the 
strongholds  of  people  really  civilised,  sincerely  humane.  The 
puerile  precaution  taken  in  Russia  to  hide  what  are  called  secrets 
of  state,  confirms  me,  more  *than  would  open  acts  of  barbarity,  in 
the  idea  that  this  government  is  nothing  more  than  a  hypocritical 
tyranny. 

After  having  myself  penetrated  into  a  Russian  state  prison, 
and  found  there  the  impossibility  of  speaking  of  things  which 
every  stranger  would  naturally  inquire  about  in  such  a  place,  I 
argue  with  myself  that  such  dissimulation  must  serve  as  mask  to 
a  profound  inhumanity  :  it  is  not  that  which  is  commendable  that 
people  conceal  with  so  much  care. 

I  am  assured,  on  good  authority,  that  the  submarine  dungeons 
of  Kronstadt  contain,  among  other  state  prisoners,  miserable 
beings  who  were  placed  there  in  the  reign  of  Alexander.  These 
unhappy  creatures  are  reduced  to  a  state  below  that  of  the  brute, 
by  a  punishment  the  atrocity  of  which  nothing  can  justify.  Could 
they  now  come  forth  out  of  the  earth,  they  would  rise  like  so 
many  avenging  spectres,  whose  appearance  would  make  the  despot 
himself  recoil  with  horror,  and  shake  the  fabric  of  despotism  to 
its  centre.  Every  thing  may  be  defended  by  plausible  words,  and 
even  by  good  reasons  :  not  one  of  the  opinions  that  divide  the 
political,  the  literary,  or  the  religious  world,  lacks  argument  by 
which  to  maintain  itself:  but,  let  them  say  what  they  please,  a 
system,  the  violence  of  which  requires  such  means  of  support, 
must  be  radically  and  intensely  vicious. 

The  victims  of  this  odious  policy  are  no  longer  men.  Those 
unfortunate  beings,  denied  the  commonest  rights,  cut  off  from  the 
world,  forgotten  by  every  one,  abandoned  to  themselves  in  the 
night  of  their  captivity,  during  which  imbecility  becomes  the 
fruit,  and  the  only  remaining  consolation  -  of  their  never-ending 
misery,  have  lost  all  memory,  as  well  as  all  that  gift  of  reason, 
that  light  of  humanity,  which  no  one  has  a  right  to  extinguish  in 
the  breast  of  his  fellow-being.  They  have  even  forgotten  their 
own  names,  which  the  keepers  amuse  themselves  by  asking  with 


STATE    PRISONERS.  235 

a  brutal  derision,  for  which  there  is  none  to  call  them  to  account ; 
for  there  reigns  such  confusion  in  the  depths  of  these  abysses  of 
iniquity,  the  shades  are  so  thick,  that  all  traces  of  justice  are 
effaced. 

Even  the  crimes  of  some  of  the  prisoners  are  not  recollected ; 
they  are,  therefore,  retained  for  ever,  because  it  is  not  known  to 
whom  they  should  be  delivered ;  and  it  is  deemed  less  inconveni- 
ent to  perpetuate  the  mistake  than  to  publish  it.  The  bad  effect 
of  so  tardy  a  justice  is  feared ;  and  thus  the  evil  is  aggravated, 
that  its  excess  may  not  require  to  be  justified.  Infamous  pusilla- 
nimity, which  is  called  expediency,  respect  for  appearances,  pru- 
dence, obedience,  wisdom,  a  sacrifice  to  the  public  good,  a  reason 
of  state !  Words  are  never  wanted  by  oppressors  •  and  are  there 
not  two  names  for  every  thing  that  exists  under  the  sun  ?  We 
are  unceasingly  told  that  there  is  no  punishment  of  death  in  Rus- 
sia. To  bury  alive,  then,  is  not  to  kill !  In  reflecting  on  so 
many  miseries  on  one  side,  and  so  much  injustice  and  hypocrisy 
on  the  other,  the  guilt  of  the  prisoners  is  lost  sight  of,  the  judge 
alone  seems  criminal.  My  indignation  is  at  its  height,  when  I 
consider  that  this  iniquitous  judge  is  not  cruel  by  choice.  To 
such  an  extent  may  a  bad  government  pervert  men  interested  in 
its  duration !  But  Russia  marches  in  advance  of  her  destiny. 
This  must  explain  all.  If  we  are  to  measure  the  greatness  of  the 
end  by  the  extent  of  the  sacrifices,  we  must,  without  doubt,  prog- 
nosticate for  this  nation  the  empire  of  the  world. 

On  returning  from  my  melancholy  visit,  a  new  labour  awaited 
me  at  the  engineer's  :  a  ceremonious  dinner  with  persons  of  the 
middle  classes.  The  engineer  had  gathered  around  him,  in  order 
to  do  me  honour,  his  wife's  relations  and  a  few  of  the  neighbour- 
ing landholders.  This  society  would  have  interested  me  as  an 
observer,  had  I  not  at  the  first  moment  perceived  that  it  would 
furnish  me  with  no  new  ideas.  There  is  no  citizen  class  in  Rus- 
sia; but  the  petty  employes  and  the  small,  though  ennobled, 
landed  proprietors,  represent  there  the  middle  orders  of  other 
lands.  Envying  the  great,  and  themselves  envied  by  the  little, 
these  men  vainly  call  themselves  nobles.  They  are  exactly  in  the 
position  of  the  French  bourgeois  before  the  Revolution  :  the  same 
data  produce  every  where  the  same  results. 

I  could  see  that  there  reigned  in  this  society  a  hostility,  ill 
disguised,  against  real  greatness  and  true  elegance,  to  whatever 
land  they  might  belong. 

That  starchness  of  manners,  that  acrimony  of  sentiment,  ill 
concealed  under  an  air  of  preciseness  and  propriety,  recalled  to 


236  THE    RUSSIAN    MIDDLE    CLASS. 

my  mind,  only  too  well,  the  epoch  in  which  we  live,  and  which  I 
had  a  little  forgotten  in  Russia,  where  I  had  hitherto  only  seen 
the  society  of  courtiers.  I  was  now  among  aspiring  subalterns, 
uneasy  as  to  what  might  be  thought  of  them ;  and  these  people 
are  the  same  every  where. 

The  men  did  not  speak  to  me,  and  appeared  to  take  little 
notice  of  me  ;  they  did  not  understand  French,  beyond  perhaps 
being  able  to  read  it  with  difficulty ;  they  therefore  formed  a 
circle  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  and  talked  Russian.  One  or  two 
females  of  the  family  bore  all  the  weight  of  the  French  conversa- 
tion. I  was  surprised  to  find  that  they  were  acquainted  with  all 
the  portion  of  our  literature  that  the  Russian  police  suffers  to 
penetrate  into  their  land.  The  toilette  of  these  ladies,  who,  with 
the  exception  of  the  mistress  of  the  house,  were  all  elderly,  was 
wanting  in  taste  ;  the  dress  of  the  men  was  yet  more  negligent ; 
large  brown  topcoats,  almost  trailing  upon  the  ground,  had  taken 
the  place  of  the  national  costume.  But  what  surprised  me  more 
than  the  careless  attire,  was  the  caustic  and  captious  tone  of  the 
conversation.  The  Russian  feeling,  carefully  disguised  by  the 
tact  of  the  higher  orders,  exhibited  itself  here  openly.  This 
society  was  more  candid,  though  less  polite,  than  that  of  the  court ; 
and  I  clearly  saw  what  I  had  only  felt  elsewhere,  namely,  that  the 
spirit  of  curiosity,  sarcasm,  and  carping  criticism  influences  the 
Russians  in  their  intercourse  with  straDgers.  They  hate  us  as 
every  imitator  hates  his  model ;  their  scrutinising  looks  seek  faults 
in  us  with  the  desire  of  finding  them.  As  soon  as  I  recognised 
this  disposition  I  felt  no  inclination  to  be  indulgent  myself.  I  had 
thought  it  necessary  to  offer  a  few  words  of  excuse  for  my  igno- 
rance of  the  Russian  tongue,  and  I  finished  my  speech  by  remark- 
ing that  every  traveller  ought  to  know  the  language  of  the  country 
he  visits,  as  it  is  more  natural  that  he  should  give  himself  the 
trouble  of  learning  to  speak  the  language  of  those  whom  he  seeks, 
than  of  imposing  upon  them  the  trouble  of  speaking  as  he  does. 

This  compliment  was  answered  by  the  observation,  that  I  must 
nevertheless  resign  myself  to  hearing  French  murdered  by  the 
Russians,  unless  I  would  travel  as  a  mute. 

"  It  is  of  this  I  complain,"  I  replied ;  "  if  I  knew  how  to 
murder  Russian  as  I  ought  to  do,  I  would  not  force  you  to  change 
your  habits  in  order  to  speak  my  language." 

"  Formerly,  we  spoke  only  French." 

"  That  was  wrong." 

"  It  is  not  for  you  to  reproach  us." 

"  I  invariably  speak  my  real  opinions." 


T1IK    RUSSIAN    MIDDLE    CLASS.  237 

"  Truth,  then,  is  still  thought  something  of  in  France  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell ;  but  I  know  that  it  ought  to  be  loved  for  its 
own  intrinsic  merits." 

"  Such  love  does  not  belong  to  our  age." 

"  In  Russia  ?  " 

"  No  where ;  and  especially  in  no  country  governed  by  news- 
papers." 

I  was  of  the  same  opinion  as  the  lady,  which  made  me  desir- 
ous of  changing  the  conversation,  for  I  would  not  speak  contrary 
to  my  own  sentiments,  nor  yet  acquiesce  with  those  of  a  person 
who,  when  she  even  thought  with  me,  expressed  her  views  with 
a  causticity  that  was  capable  of  disgusting  me  with  my  own. 

The  dinner  did  not  pass  over  without  constraint,  but  it  was 
not  long,  and  appeared  to  me  sufficiently  good,  with  the  exception 
of  the  soup,  the  originality  of  which  passed  all  bounds.  This 
soup  was  cold,  and  consisted  of  pieces  of  fish,  which  swam  in  a 
broth  of  strong,  highly-seasoned,  and  highly-sweetened  vinegar. 
With  the  exception  of  this  infernal  ragout,  and  of  the  sour  quarss, 
a  species  of  beer  which  is  a  national  beverage,  I  ate  and  drank 
with  good  appetite.  There  was  excellent  claret  and  champagne 
on  the  table,  but  I  saw  clearly  that  they  had  put  themselves  out 
of  the  way  on  my  account,  which  produced  mutual  formality  and 
constraint.  The  engineer  did  not  participate  in  this  feeling ; 
though  a  great  man  at  his  sluices,  he  was  nothing  at  all  in  his 
own  house,  and  left  his  mother-in-law  to  do  its  honours,  with  the 
grace  of  which  the  reader  may  judge. 

At  six  in  the  evening  my  entertainers  and  myself  parted,  with  a 
satisfaction  that  was  reciprocal,  and,  it  must  be  owned,  ill-dis- 
guised. I  left  for  the  castle  of ,  where  I  was  expected.  The 

frankness  of  the  fair  plebeians  had  reconciled  me  to  the  mincing 
affectations  of  certain  great  ladies.  One  may  hope  to  triumph 
over  affectation,  but  natural  dispositions  are  invincible. 

It  was  yet  light  when  I  reached ,  which  is  six  or  eight 

leagues  from  Sehlusselburg.  I  spent  there  the  rest  of  the  evening, 
walking  in  the  twilight,  in  a  garden,  which,  for  Russia,  is  very 
handsome,  sailing  in  a  little  boat  on  the  Neva,  and  enjoying  the 
refined  and  agreeable  conversation  of  a  member  of  the  fashionable 
circles.  What  I  have  seen  at  Sehlusselburg  will  make  me  cautious 
how  I  place  myself  again  in  a  position  where  it  is  necessary  to 
face  such  interrogations  as  I  submitted  to  in  that  society.  Such 
drawing-rooms  resemble  fields  of  battle.  The  circles  of  fashion, 
with  all  their  vices,  seem  preferable  to  this  petty  world,  with  all 
its  precise  virtues. 


238  PETERSBURG  AND  VENICE. 

I  was  again  in  Petersburg  soon  after  midnight,  having  travelled 
during  the  day  about  thirty- six  leagues,  through  sandy  and  miry 
roads,  with  two  sets  of  hired  horses. 

The  demands  upon  the  animals  are  in  proportion  to  those  made 
upon  the  men.  The  Russian  horses  seldom  last  more  than  eight 
or  ten  years.  The  pavement  of  Petersbug  is  as  fatal  to  them  as 
it  is  to  the  carriages,  and  it  may  be  said,  to  the  riders,  whose 
heads  nearly  split  as  soon  as  they  are  off  the  few  wooden  roads 
that  can  be  found.  It  is  true  that  the  Russians  have  laid  their 
detestable  pavement  in  regularly-figured  compartments  of  large 
stones, — an  ornament  which  only  increases  the  evil,  for  it  makes 
riding  in  the  streets  yet  more  jolting.  A  certain  appearance  of 
elegance  or  magnificence — a  boastful  display  of  wealth  and  gran- 
deur, is  all  that  the  Russians  care  for :  they  have  commenced  the 
work  of  civilization  by  creating  its  superfluities.  If  such  be  the 
right  way  of  proceeding,  let  us  cry,  "  Long  live  vanity,  and  down 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Petersburg  compared  to  Venice.— The  Gospel  dangerous.— Religion  in  Russia.— Janus.— New 
Poland.— The  Future.— A  Delay.— History  of  the  Prince  and  Princess  Troubetzkoi. — Devo- 
tion of  the  Princess.— Fourteen  Years  in  the  Uralian  Mines.— Mercy  of  the  Emperor. — 
The  Children  of  a  Convict.— Colonization  in  Siberia.— A  Mother's  Anguish.— Second 
Petition  to  the  Emperor,  and  his  Answer.— A  final  Opinion  on  the  Character  of  the  Em- 
peror.—The  Family  of  the  Exiles.— Change  in  the  Author's  Plans.— Means  taken  for 
deceiving  the  Police. 

PETERSBURG  appears  to  me  less  beautiful  than  Venice,  but  more 
extraordinary.  They  are  both  colossi  raised  by  fear.  Venice 
was  the  work  of  unmixed  fear ;  the  last  Romans  preferred  flight  to 
death,  and  the  fruit  of  their  fear  became  one  of  the  world's  won- 
ders. Petersburg  is  equally  the  result  of  terror,  but  of  a  pious 
terror,  for  Russian  policy  has  known  how  to  convert  obedience 
into  a  dogma.  The  Russian  people  are  accounted  very  religious ; 
it  may  be  so  :  but  what  kind  of  religion  can  that  be  which  is  for- 
bidden to  be  taught  ?  They  never  preach  in  the  Russian  churches. 
The  G-ospel  would  proclaim  liberty  to  the  Sclavonians. 

This  fear  of  things  being  understood  which  they  desire  should 
be  believed,  seems  to  me  suspicious.  The  more  reason  and  know- 
ledge contract  the  sphere  of  faith,  the  stronger  that  divine  light, 
thus  concentrated  in  its  focus,  becomes ;  the  less  people  believe, 
the  more  fervent  is  their  faith.  Signs  of  the  cross  are  no  proofs 


POLAND. THE    FUTURE.  239 

of  a  right  devotion ;  and,  notwithstanding  their  genuflexions  and 
other  external  evidences  of  piety,  the  Russians,  in  their  prayers, 
seem  to  me  to  think  more  of  their  Emperor  than  their  God. 
"Awake  me  when  you  come  to  the  subject  of  God,"  said  an  am- 
bassador, about  to  be  put  to  sleep  in  a  Russian  church  by  the 
Imperial  liturgy. 

Sometimes  I  feel  ready  to  participate  in  the  superstition  of  this 
people.  Enthusiasm  becomes  contagious  when  it  is,  or  appears  to 
be,  general ;  but  the  moment  the  symptoms  lay  hold  of  me,  I  think 
of  Siberia,  that  indispensable  auxiliary  of  Muscovite  civilization, 
and  immediately  I  recover  my  calmness  and  independence. 

Political  faith  is  more  firm  here  than  religious  faith  :  the  unity 
of  the  Greek  church  is  only  apparent :  the  sects,  reduced  to  silence, 
dig  their  way  under-ground ;  but  nations  will  only  remain  mutes 
for  a  time ;  sooner  or  later,  the  day  of  discussion  must  arrive  ; 
religion,  politics,  all  will  speak  and  explain  themselves  at  last. 
Wherever  the  right  of  speech  shall  be  restored  to  this  muzzled 
people,  the  astonished  world  will  hear  so  many  disputes  arise,  that 
it  will  believe  the  confusion  of  Babel  again  returned.  It  is  by 
religious  dissensions  that  a  social  revolution  will  be  one  day 
brought  about  in  Russia. 

When  I  approach  the  Emperor  and  see  his  dignity  and  beauty, 
I  admire  the  marvel.  A  man  like  him  is  rarely  seen  any  where, 
but  on  the  throne  he  is  a  phoenix.  I  rejoice  in  living  at  a  time 
when  such  a  prodigy  exists,  for  I  take  as  much  pleasure  in  showing 
respect  as  others  do  in  offering  insult. 

Nevertheless,  I  examine,  with  scrupulous  care,  the  objects  of 
my  respect,  from  whence  it  results  that,  when  I  closely  consider 
this  personage  distinguished  from  all  others  upon  earth,  I  fancy 
that  his  head  has  two  faces,  like  that  of  Janus,  and  that  the 
words  violence,  exile,  oppression,  or  their  full  equivalent,  SIBERIA, 
is  engraved  on  the  face  which  is  not  presented  towards  me.  This 
idea  haunts  me  unceasingly,  even  when  I  speak  to  him.  It  is  in 
vain  that  I  strive  only  to  think  of  what  I  say  to  him ;  my  imagi- 
nation, in  spite  of  myself,  travels  from  Warsaw  to  Tobolsk,  and 
that  single  word,  Warsaw,  revives  all  my  distrust. 

Does  the  world  know  that,  at  the  present  hour,  the  roads  of 
Asia  are  once  again  covered  with  exiles  torn  from  their  hearths, 
and  proceeding  on  foot  to  their  tomb,  as  the  herds  leave  their 
pastures  for  the  slaughter-house?  This  revival  of  wrath  is 
attributable  to  a  pretended  Polish  conspiracy,  a  conspiracy  of 
youthful  madmen,  who  would  have  been  heroes  had  they  succeed- 
ed ;  and  who,  their  attempt  being  desperate,  only  appear  to  me 


240  THK    I'RINCKSS    TROUBKTZKOI, 

the  more  generously  devoted.  My  heart  bleeds  for  the  exiles,  their 
families,  and  their  country.  What  will  be  the  result  when  the 
oppressors  of  this  corner  of  the  earth,  where  chivalry  once  flour- 
ished, shall  have  peopled  Tartary  with  all  that  was  most  noble  and 
courageous  amongst  the  sons  of  ancient  Europe.  When  they  have 
thus  crowned  their  icy  policy,  let  them  enjoy  their  success.  Siberia 
will  have  become  the  kingdom,  and  Poland  the  desert. 

Ought  not  we  to  blush  with  shame  to  pronounce  the  name  of 
liberalism,  when  we  think  that  there  exists  in  Europe  a  people 
who  were  independent,  and  who  now  know  no  other  liberty  but 
that  of  apostacy  ?  The  Russians,  when  they  turn  against  the 
West  the  arms  which  they  employ  successfully  against  Asia,  forget 
that  the  same  mode  of  action  which  aids  their  progress  against  the 
Calrnucs,  becomes  an  outrage  of  humanity  when  directed  against  a 
people  that  have  been  long  civilized. 

The  scenes  on  the  Volga  continue  ;  and  their  horrors  are  attri- 
buted to  instigations  of  Polish  emissaries ;  an  imputation  that 
reminds  one  of  the  justice  of  the  wolf  of  La  Fontaine.  These 
cruelties  and  reciprocal  iniquities  are  preludes  to  the  convulsions 
of  the  coming  result,  and  suffice  to  apprise  us  of  its  character. 
But  in  a  nation  governed  like  this,  passions  boil  a  long  time  before 
they  explode ;  the  peril  may  be  increasing,  yet  the  crisis  is  still 
distant,  and  the  evil  meanwhile  continues :  perhaps  our  grand- 
children will  not  see  the  explosion,  which  notwithstanding,  we  can 
now  prognosticate  as  inevitable,  though  we  cannot  predict  the  time 
and  the  season. 

We  may  not  cease  to  repeat  that  the  Russian  revolution,  when 
it  does  come,  will  be  the  more  terrible,  because  it  will  be  pro- 
claimed in  the  name  of  religion.  The  Russian  policy  has  melted 
the  church  into  the  state,  and  confounded  heaven  and  earth :  a 
man  who  sees  a  god  in  his  master,  scarcely  hopes  for  paradise 
except  through  the  favor  of  the  Emperor. 

I  shall  never  get  away.  Fate  seems  to  interfere.  Once  more  a 
delay  ;  yet,  this  time,  it  is  a  legitimate  one.  I  was  just  preparing 
to  enter  my  carriage,  when  a  friend  insisted  upon  seeing  me.  He 
brought  a  letter,  which  he  would  have  me  read  at  the  very  mo- 
ment. But  what  a  letter,  gracious  Glod  !  It  is  from  the  Princess 
Troubetzkoi,  who  addresses  it  to  a  member  of  her  family  charged 
to  show  it  to  the  Emperor.  I  wished  to  copy  it,  in  order  to  print 
it  without  changing  a  syllable,  but  this  I  was  not  permitted  to  do. 
"  It  would  go  the  round  of  "the  whole  earth,"  said  my  friend, 
alarmed  by  the  effect  which  it  produced  upon  me. 

"  The  greater  reason  to  make  it  known,"  I  replied. 


THE    PRINCE    TROUBETZKOI.  241 

"  Impossible.  The  safety  of  several  individuals  would  be  com- 
promised ;  besides,  it  has  only  been  lent  me  in  order  to  show  you 
on  your  word  of  honour,  and  on  condition  that  it  shall  be  returned 
in  half  an  hour." 

Unhappy  land,  where  every  stranger  appears  as  a  saviour  in  the 
eyes  of  a  herd  of  oppressed  beings,  merely  because  he  represents 
truth,  publicity,  and  liberty,  among  a  people  deprived  of  all  these 
blessings. 

Before  alluding  to  the  contents  of  this  letter,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  recount,  in  a  few  words,  a  lamentable  history.  The  principal 
facts  will  be  known  to  many,  yet  vaguely,  like  every  thing  else  that 
is  known  of  a  distant  country,  in  which  people  only  take  a  cold 
interest.  Let  the  public  read  and  blush — yes,  blush ;  for  whoever 
has  not  found  means  to  protest,  with  his  utmost  power,  against 
the  policy  of  a  country  where  such  acts  are  possible,  is  to  a  certain 
extent  an  accomplice  and  responsible.  I  sent  back  the  horses  by 
my  feldjager,  under  pretext  of  indisposition,  and  told  him  to  state 
at  the  establishment  of  the  Posts  that  I  should  not  leave  until  the 
morrow.  Once  rid  of  this  officious  spy,  I  sat  down  to  write. 

The  Prince  Troubetzkoi  was  condemned  as  a  convict  to  hard 
labour  fourteen  years  ago.  He  was  at  that  time  young,  and  had 
taken  a  very  active  part  in  the  revolt  of  the  fourteenth  of  De- 
cember. 

The  first  object  of  the  conspirators  on  that  occasion  was  to 
deceive  the  soldiers  as  regards  the  legitimacy  of  the  Emperor 
Nicholas.  They  hoped  by  the  error  of  the  troops  to  produce  a 
military  revolt,  and  to  profit  by  this,  in  order  to  work  a  political 
revolution,  of  which,  whether  fortunately  or  unfortunately  for 
Russia,  they  alone  at  that  time  felt  the  necessity.  The  number 
of  these  reformers  was  too  limited  to  afford  any  chance  that  the 
troubles  excited  by  them  could  end  in  the  result  proposed.  The 
conspiracy  was  defeated  by  the  Emperor's  presence  of  mind,  or 
rather  by  the  intrepidity  of  his  countenance.  That  prince,  on 
the  first  day  of  his  authority,  drew,  from  the  energy  of  his  bear- 
ing, all  the  future  power  of  his  reign. 

The  revolution  thus  crushed,  it  was  necessary  to  proceed  to 
the  punishment  of  the  guilty.  The  Prince  Troubetzkoi,  one  of 
the  most  deeply  implicated,  unable  to  exculpate  himself,  was 
sentenced  to  labour  in  the  Oural  mines  for  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years,  and  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  exiled  to  Siberia, 
among  one  of  those  distant  colonies  that  malefactors  are  destined 
to  people. 

The  prince  had  a  wife  whose  family  was  among  the  most  dis- 
11 


242  HEROISM    OF    THE    PRINCESS. 

tinguished  in  the  land.  This  lady  could  not  be  dissuaded  from 
following  her  husband  to  his  tomb.  "  It  is  my  duty,"  she  said 
"  and  I  will  fulfil  it ;  no  human  power  has  a  right  to  separate  a 
wife  from  her  husband  ;  I  will  share  the  fate  of  mine." 

The  noble  wife  obtained  the  favour  of  being  buried  alive  with 
her  unhappy  partner.  I  am  astonished  since  I  have  seen  Russia, 
and  the  spirit  of  its  government,  that,  influenced  by  a  lingering 
relic  of  shame,  they  have  thought  it  right  to  respect  this  act  of 
devotion  during  a  period  of  fourteen  years.  That  they  should 
favour  patriotic  heroism  is  very  natural,  for  they  profit  by  it ; 
but  to  tolerate  a  sublime  virtue  that  does  not  accord  with  the 
views  of  the  sovereign,  was  an  act  of  remissness  for  which  they 
must  have  often  reproached  themselves.  They  feared  the  friends 
of  the  Troubetzkoi ;  an  aristocracy  however  enervated  it  may  be, 
always  preserves  a  shadow  of  its  independence, — a  shadow  that 
serves  to  cast  a  cloud  over  despotism.  Contrasts  abound  in  this 
dreadful  society  ;  many  men  speak  among  themselves  as  freely 
as  if  they  lived  in  France :  this  secret  liberty  consoles  them  for 
the  public  slavery  which  forms  the  shame  and  the  curse  of  their 
land. 

From  the  fear,  then,  of  exasperating  certain  influential  fami- 
lies, the  government  yielded  to  a  kind  of  prudent  compassion. 
The  princess  departed  with  her  husband  the  convict,  and,  which 
is  extraordinary,  she  reached  her  destination.  The  journey  was 
alone  a  frightful  trial :  hundreds,  thousands,  of  leagues  in  a  telega, 
a  little  open  cart  without  springs,  over  roads  that  break  both 
carriages  and  human  bones.  The  unhappy  woman  supported 
these,  and  many  other  hardships  and  privations,  which  I  shall  not 
describe  for  want  of  precise  details ;  for  I  wish  to  add  nothing 
to  the  strict  truth  of  this  narration. 

Her  conduct  will  appear  the  more  heroic  when  it  is  known 
that,  until  the  husband's  ruin,  the  married  pair  had  lived  some- 
what coldly  together.  But  is  not  a  fervent  devotion  a  substitute 
for  love  ?  Or  rather,  is  it  not  love  itself  ?  Love  flows  from 
many  sources,  and  of  these,  self-sacrifice  is  the  most  abundant. 

They  had  never  had  children  at  Petersburg  ;  they  had  five  in 
Siberia. 

This  man,  rendered  glorious  by  the  generosity  of  his  wife,  be- 
came a  superior  being  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  approached  him. 
Who  indeed  would  not  venerate  the  object  of  an  affection  so 
sacred  ? 

However  criminal  the  Prince  Troubetzkoi  may  have  been,  his 
pardon,  which  the  Emperor  will  perhaps  never  grant,  for  he  be- 


FOURTEEN  YEARS  AT  THE  OURAL  MINES.         243 

lieves  that  he  owes  it  both  to  his  people  and  himself  to  maintain 
an  implacable  severity,  has  been  doubtless  accorded  by  the  King 
of  kings.  The  almost  supernatural  virtues  of  a  wife  could  ap- 
pease the  wrath  of  a  God,  they  could  not  disarm  human  justice. 
The  reason  is,  that  Divine  Omnipotence  is  a  reality,  whilst  that 
of  the  Emperor  of  Russia  is  a  fiction. 

He  would  have  long  since  pardoned  the  criminal  had  he  been 
as  great  as  he  pretends  to  be  ;  buf  clemency,  independently  of  its 
being  repugnant  to  his  natural  disposition,  appears  to  him  a 
weakness  by  which  a  king  would  degrade  the  kingly  office  :  habit- 
uated as  he  is  to  measure  his  power  by  the  fear  which  he  in- 
spires, he  would  regard  mercy  as  a  violation  of  his  code  of  politi- 
cal morality.  «^- 

For  my  own  part,  I  judge  of  a  man's  power  over  others  by 
that  which  I  see  him  exercise  over  himself,  and  I  cannot  believe 
his  authority  safely  established  until  he  can  venture  to  forgive  : 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  ventures  only  to  punish.  Pardon  might  be 
a  dangerous  example  to  a  people  who  are  still  so  rude  in  the 
depths  of  their  hearts.  The  prince  lowers  himself  to  the  level  of 
his  savage  subjects ;  he  hardens  himself  with  them  ;  he  does  not 
fear  to  brutalize  them  in  order  to  attach  them :  people  and  sove- 
reign emulate  each  other  in  deceptions,  prejudices,  and  inhu- 
manity. Abominable  combination  of  barbarism  and  weakness, 
interchange  of  ferocity,  circulation  of  falsehood  which  warms  the 
life  of  a  monster! — a  cadaverous  body  whose  blood  is  poison. 
Such  is  despotism  in  its  essence  and  in  its  action. 

The  husband  and  wife  have  lived  for  fourteen  years  by  the 
side,  so  to  speak,  of  the  Oural  mines ;  for  the  arms  of  a  labourer 
like  the  prince  are  little  suited  to  the  work  of  the  pick-axe.  He 
was  there  for  the  sake  of  being  there,  and  that  is  all :  but  he  was 
a  convict,  and  we  shall  soon  see  to  what  this  condition  condemns 
a  man — and  his  children ! 

There  is  no  lack  of  good  Russians  in  Petersburg ;  and  I  have 
met  some  who  view  the  life  of  the  convicts  at  the  mines  as  very 
bearable,  and  who  complain  of  the  exaggeration  with  which  the 
modern  makers  of  fine  speeches  describe  the  sufferings  of  the 
traitors  in  the  Oural  mountains.  They  own  that  they  are  not 
allowed  to  receive  money,  but  their  relations  are  suffered  to  send 
them  provisions.  Provisions !  there  are  few  that  could  be  for- 
warded so  great  a  distance,  without  being  rendered  unfit  for  use. 
But  the  courtiers  of  the  executioner  always  find  the  punishment 
too  merciful  for  the  crime. 

However  great  may  be  the  luxuries  of  life  in  Siberia,  the 


244  MERCY    OF    THE    EMPEROR. 

health  of  the  Princess  Troubetzkoi  is  injured  by  her  sojourn  at 
the  mines.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  a  woman  accustomed 
to  all  the  delicacies  of  life  in  the  highest  ranks  of  a  luxurious 
capital  has  been  able  so  long  to  support  the  privations  of  every 
kind  to  which  she  has  voluntarily  submitted.  She  wished  to 
live,  she  did  live — she  even  gave  life ;  she  reared  her  offspring 
under  a  zone  where  the  length  and  the  rigour  of  winter  is  inimi- 
cal to  existence.  The  thermometer  falls  there,  yearly,  to  a  tem- 
perature that  might  alone  suffice  to  destroy  the  human  race.  But 
this  saint-like  woman  had  other  cares  to  think  of. 
«***'IMrtr  At  the  conclusion  of  seven  years  of  exile,  as  she  saw  her  in- 
fants growing  around  her,  she  thought  it  her  duty  to  write  to  one 
of  her  family  to  beg  that  they  would  humbly  supplicate  the  Em- 
peror to  suffer  them  to  be  sent  to  Petersburg,  or  to  some  other 
civilized  city,  in  order  to  receive  a  suitable  education. 

The  petition  was  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  Czar,  and  the  worthy 
successor  of  the  Ivans  and  of  Peter  I.  answered  that  the  children 
of  a  convict — convicts  themselves — would  always  be  sufficiently 
learned  ! 

After  the  above  answer,  the  family — the  mother  and  the  con- 
demned man — were  silent  for  seven  more  weary  years.  Humanity, 
honour,  Christian  charity,  outraged  religion,  alone  pleaded  in 
their  favour  ;  but  this  was  done  silently  ;  not  a  voice  was  raised 
to  appeal  against  such  justice.  Nevertheless,  a  renewal  of  misery 
has  now  called  forth  a  last  cry  from  the  depths  of  this  abyss. 

The  prince  has  completed  his  term  of  labour  in  the  mines, 
and  now  the  exiles,  liberated,  as  they  call  it,  are  condemned  to 
form,  they  and  their  young  family,  a  colony  in  the  most  remote 
corner  of  the  desert.  The  locality  of  their  new  residence,  de- 
signedly chosen  by  the  Emperor  himself,  is  so  wild  that  the 
name  of  that  howling  wilderness  is  not  even  yet  marked  on  the 
ordnance  maps  of  Russia,  the  most  exact  and  minute  geographical 
maps  that  exist. 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that  the  condition  of  the  princess 
(I  name  her  only)  is  more  wretched  since  she  has  been  permitted 
to  inhabit  this  solitude.  It  should  be  observed  that,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  oppressed,  as  interpreted  by  the  oppressor,  permis- 
sions are  obligatory.  At  the  mines  she  could  find  warmth  in  the 
bosom  of  the  earth,  her  family  had  companions  in  misfortune, 
silent  consolers,  admiring  witnesses  of  her  heroism.  The  human 
eye  contemplated  and  respectfully  deplored  her  martyrdom,  a 
circumstance  which,  externally,  rendered  it  the  more  sublime. 
Hearts  beat  in  her  presence, — in  short,  without  having  even  to 


COLONISATION   IN   SIBERIA.  245 

speak,  she  felt  herself  in  society ;  for  let  governments  do  their 
worst,  pity  will  still  spring  to  life  wherever  there  are  men.  But 
what  hope  can  there  be  of  awakening  the  sympathy  of  bears,  or 
of  melting  eternal  ices,  amid  impenetrable  woods,  or  marshes 
that  have  no  bounds  ?  What  means  can  there  be  found  of  ex- 
cluding the  mortal  cold  from  a  hovel  ? — and  how  is  subsistence 
for  five  children  to  be  obtained  a  hundred  leagues,  perhaps  more, 
from  any  human  abode,  unless  it  be  that  of  the  superintendent 
of  the  colonies  ? — for  this  is  called  colonizing  in  Siberia  ! 

What  I  admire  as  much  as  the  resignation  of  the  princess,  is 
the  eloquence,  the  ingenious  tenderness  she  must  have  possessed, 
to  overcome  the  resistance  of  her  husband,  and  to  succeed  in  per- 
suading him  that  she  was  less  to  be  pitied  in  suffering  with  him 
than  she  would  be  in  Petersburg,  surrounded  with  all  the  com- 
forts and  elegancies  of  life.  This  triumph  of  devotion,  recom- 
pensed by  success,  for  her  husband  finally  consented,  I  view  as 
a  miracle  of  delicacy,  of  energy  and  of  sensibility.  To  know  how 
to  sacrifice  self  is  as  noble  as  it  is  rare, — to  know  how  to  accept 
such  a  sacrifice,  is  sublime. 

At  present  this  father  and  mother,  abandoned  in  the  desert, 
without  physical  powers,  stript  of  every  aid,  lost  to  their  fellow 
men,  punished  in  their  children,  whose  innocence  only  serves  to 
aggravate  their  anguish,  know  not  how  to  provide  food  for  them- 
selves and  their  little  ones.  These  young  convicts  by  birth,  these 
pariahs  of  the  Imperial  realm,  if  they  have  no  longer  a  country, 
no  longer  a  position  in  the  community,  have  yet  bodies  that  need 
food  and  raiment.  A  mother,  whatever  dignity,  whatever  eleva- 
tion of  soul  she  may  possess,  could  she  see  the  fruit  of  her  body 
perish  rather  than  supplicate  a  pardon  ?  No ;  she  again  humbled 
herself,  and  this  time  it  was  not  through  Christian  virtue  :  the 
lofty  woman  was  conquered  by  the  despairing  mother.  She  saw* 
her  children  ill,  and  had  nothing  wherewith  to  administer  to  their 
wants.  In  this  extreme  misery,  her  husband,  his  heart  withered 
by  his  misfortune,  left  her  to  act  according  to  her  impulse,  ani 
the  princess  wrote  a  second  letter  from  her  hut  of  exile,  trhe 
letter  was  addressed  to  her  family,  but  meant  for  the  Emperor. 
This  was  to  place  herself  at  the  feet  of  her  enemy,  to  forget  what 
she  owed  to  herself ;  but  who  would  think  the  less  of  her  for  so 
doing  ?  God  calls  his  elect  to  every  species  of  sacrifice,  even  to 
the  sacrifice  of  the  most  legitimate  pride.  The  man  who  would 
understand  life  without  recognising  eternity,  can  only  have  seen 
the  things  of  this  world  on  their  sunny  side  :  he  must  have  lived 
on  illusions,  as  they  would  have  me  do  in  Russia.  The  letter 


246  SECOND    PETITION    TO    THE    EMPEROR. 

of  the  princess  has  reached  its  destination,  the  Emperor  has  read 
it ;  and  it  was  to  communicate  to  me  this  letter  that  I  was  stop- 
ped at  the  moment  of  my  departure.  I  cannot  regret  the  delay. 
I  have  never  read  any  thing  more  simple  and  touching.  Actions 
like  the  writer's  can  dispense  with  words ;  she  uses  her  privilege 
as  a  heroine,  and  is  laconic,  even  when  imploring  the  life  of  her 
children.!^  In  a  few  lines,  she  states  her  situation,  without  decla- 
mation and  without  complaint ;  she  concludes  by  imploring  this 
single  favour — the  permission  to  live  within  reach  of  an  apothe- 
cary, in  order  to  be  able  to  get  some  medicine  for  her  children 
when  they  are  ill.  The  environs  of  Tobolsk,  of  Irkutsk,  or  of 
Orenburg,  would  appear  to  her  paradise !  In  the  concluding 
words  of  her  letter,  she  ceases  addressing  herself  to  the  Empe- 
ror, she  forgets  every  thing  except  her  husband.  With  a  feeling 
and  a  dignity  which  would  merit  the  pardon  of  the  worst  crime, 
and  she  is  innocent  of  any,  "  I  am  very  miserable,"  she  says  ; 
u  but  were  it  to  come  over  again  I  should  do  as  I  have  done." 

There  was  in  the  family  of  this  woman  an  individual  bold 
enough  to  dare  to  carry  her  letter  to  the  Emperor,  and  even  to 
support  with  an  humble  petition  the  request  of  a  disgraced  rela- 
tive. He  spoke  only  of  that  relative  as  a  criminal,  although, 
before  any  other  being  but  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  a  man  would 
have  gloried  in  avowing  his  relationship  with  so  noble  a  victim 
of  conjugal  duty.  Well!  after  fourteen  years  of  contiriued  ven- 
geance, continued  but  not  glutted — (how  can  I  moderate  my  in- 
dignation ? — to  use  gentler  terms  in  recounting  such  facts  would 
be  to  betray  a  sacred  cause :  let  the  Russians  object  against 
them  if  they  dare ;  I  would  rather  fail  in  respect  to  despotism 
than  to  misfortune.  They  will  crush  me  if  they  can ;  but,  at 
least,  Europe  shall  know  that  a  man  to  whom  sixty  millions  of 
men  never  cease  saying  that  he  is  omnipotent,  revenges  himself ! 
— Yes,  revenge  is  the  proper  name  for  such  a  justice  !)-*after 
fourteen  years,  then,  of  vengeance,  this  woman,  whose  misery  has 
been  ennobled  by  so  much  heroism,  obtained  from  the  Emperor 
Nicholas  no  other  answer  than  the  following  : — "  I  am  astonished 
that  any  one  again  dares  to  speak  to  me  (twice  in  fifteen  years !) 
of  a  family,  the  head  of  which  has  conspired  against  me  !  "  The 
reader  may  doubt  this  answer, — I  could  do  so  myself,  and  never- 
theless I  have  clear  proof  of  its  truth. 

The  relations  of  the  exiles,  the  Troubetzkoi,  a  powerful  fa- 
mily, live  at  Petersburg,  and  they  attend  the  court !  Such  is  the 
spirit,  the  dignity,  the  independence  of  the  Russian  aristocracy ! 
In  this  empire  of  violence,  fear  justifies  every  thing, — nay  more, 
it  is  the  only  merit  that  is  sure  to  receive  reward. 


FINAL    VIEW    OF    THE    EMPEROR'S    CHARACTER.  247 

I  have  no  more  hesitation,  no  more  uncertainty  of  opinion  as 
regards  the  character  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas ;  my  judgment  of 
that  prince  is  at  length  formed.  He  is  a  man  of  talent  and  of 
resolution ;  it  needs  that  he  should  be,  to  constitute  himself  the 
gaoler  of  the  third  of  the  globe ;  but  he  wants  magnanimity :  the 
use  that  he  makes  of  his  power  only  too  clearly  proves  this  to 
me.  May  God  pardon  him !  happily  I  shall  never  see  him  again. 

What  heart  would  not  bleed  at  the  idea  of  the  anguish  of 
that  unhappy  mother  ?  My  God !  if  such  be  the  destiny  thou 
hast  ordained  upon  earth  for  the  sublimest  virtue,  show  to  it  thy 
heaven, — open  to  it  the  gates  thereof  before  the  hour  of  death  ! 
Imagine  what  must  be  the  feelings  of  this  woman  when  she  casts 
her  eyes  on  her  children ;  and  when,  aided  by  her  husband,  she 
labours  to  supply  the  education  which  they  need  !  Education  ! 
it  will  be  poison  for  those  who  have  no  names,  but  are  marked 
and  numbered  like  the  beasts  of  the  herd.  Can  the  exiles  deny 
all  their  recollections,  all  their  habits,  in  order  to  hide  the  mis- 
fortune of  their  position  from  the  innocent  victims  of  their  love  ? 
Would  not  the  native  refinement  of  their  parents  inspire  these 
young  savages  with  ideas  that  they  could  never  realise  ?  What 
danger,  what  momentary  torment  for  them,  and  what  insupport- 
able constraint  for  their  mother  !  This  mental  torture,  added  to 
such  a  load  of  physical  sufferings,  haunts  me  like  a  hideous  dream 
from  which  I  cannot  awake.  Since  yesterday  morning  it  has  pur- 
sued me  incessantly,  whispering  at  every  moment  of  the  day — 
What  is  the  Princess  Troubetzkoi  now  doing  ? — what  is  she  say- 
ing to  her  children  ? — with  what  look  is  she  watching  over  them  ? 
— what  prayer  is  she  addressing  to  God  for  these  beings,  damned 
ere  they  were  born  by  the  providence  of  the  Russians  ?  This 
punishment  inflicted  upon  an  innocent  generation  disgraces  an 
entire  people ! 

I  shall  finish  my  journey,  but  without  going  to  Borodino; 
without  being  present  at  the  arrival  of  the  court  at  the  Kremlin  ; 
without  speaking  more  of  the  Emperor.  What  can  I  say  of  that 
prince  that  the  reader  does  not  now  know  as  well  as  I  ?  To  form 
an  idea  of  men  and  things  in  this  land,  it  is  necessary  to  remem- 
ber that  plenty  of  occurrences,  similar  to  the  one  I  have  related 
take  place  here,  though  they  remain  unknown.  It  required  an 
extraordinary  concurrence  of  circumstances  to  reveal  to  me  the 
facts  which  my  conscience  obliges  me  here  to  record. 

I  am  about  to  place  in  one  sealed  packet  all  the  papers  that 
I  have  written  since  my  arrival  in  Russia,  including  the  present 
chapter,  and  to  deposit  them  in  safe  hands — things  which  are  not 


248  ROAD    FROM    PETERSBURG    TO    MOSCOW. 

easily  found  in  Petersburg.  I  shall  then  finish  the  day  by  writ-' 
ing  an  official  letter,  which  will  leave  by  the  post  to-morrow,  and 
in  which  every  thing  will  be  so  carefally  praised  and  admired, 
that  I  have  rational  hopes  it  will,  when  seized  on  the  frontier, 
assure  my  security  during  the  remainder  of  the  journey.  If  my 
friends  hear  no  more  of  me,  they  must  suppose  I  am  sent  to  Si- 
beria :  that  journey  could  alone  alter  my  intention  as  regards 
proceeding  to  Moscow,  which  intention  will  be  delayed  in  execu- 
tion no  longer,  for  my  feldjager  has  just  arrived  to  inform  me 
that  the  post-horses  will  be  at  my  door  without  fail  to-morrow 
morning 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Road  from  Petersburg  to  Moscow. — Speed  of  Travelling.— A  Livonian.—  The  best  Means  of 
Governing. — English  Carriages  on  Russian  Roads. — The  Country  People. — Aspect  of  the 
Country. — The  Post-house. — Mountains  of  Valdai.— Costume  of  the  Peasantry.— Russian 
Ladies  en  Deshabille.— Small  Russian  Towns.— Torjeck  Russian  Leather. — Chicken  C6- 
teletles. — A  double  Road. 

I  AM  writing  at  Pomerania,  a  post  town  eighteen  leagues  from 
Petersburg. 

To  travel  post  on  the  road  from  Petersburg  to  Moscow,  is  to 
treat  one's  self  for  whole  days  to  the  sensation  experienced  in 
descending  the  tnontagnes  Russes  at  Paris.  It  would  be  well  to 
bring  an  English  carriage  to  Petersburg,  if  only  for  the  pleasure 
of  travelling,  on  really  elastic  springs,  this  famous  road,  the  best 
chaussee  in  Europe,  according  to  the  Russians,  and,  I  believe, 
according  to  strangers  also.  It  must  be  owned  that  it  is  well 
kept,  although  hard,  by  reason  of  the  nature  of  the  materials, 
which  broken  as  they  are  in  tolerably  small  pieces,  form,  in  en- 
crusting over  the  surface,  little  immovable  asperities,  which  shake 
the  carriages  to  a  degree  that  causes  something  to  come  out  of 
place  at  every  stage.  As  much  time  is  thus  lost  as  is  gained  by 
the  speed  at  which  they  drive ;  for  we  rush  along  in  a  whirlwind 
of  dust,  with  the  rapidity  of  a  hurricane  chasing  the  clouds  befor^ 
it.  An  English  carriage  is  very  pleasant  for  the  first  few  stages  ; 
but  in  the  long  run,  the  necessity  of  a  Russian  equipage,  to  with- 
stand the  pace  of  the  horses,  and  the  hardness  of  the  road,  is  dis- 
covered. The  rails  of  the  bridges  are  formed  of  handsome  iron 
balustrades,  and  the  granite  pillars  which  support  them  are 
carved  with  the  Imperial  arms.  This  road  is  broader  than  those 


TREATMENT    OF    A    POST-HORSE.  249 

of  England ;  it  is  also  as  even,  although  less  easy :  the  horses 
are  small,  but  full  of  muscle. 

My  feldjager- has  ideas,  a  bearing,  and  a  person,  which  pre- 
vent my  forgetting  the  spirit  which  reigns  in  his  country.  On 
arriving  at  the  second  stage,  one  of  our  four  horses  fell  on  the 
road.  Notwithstanding  the  advanced  season,  the  middle  of  the 
day  is  still  excessively  hot,  and  the  dust  renders  the  air  suffoca- 
ting. It  appeared  to  me  that  the  horse  had  fallen  under  the 
influence  of  the  heat,  and  that  unless  he  were  instantly  bled,  he 
would  die.  I  therefore  called  the  feldjager,  and  taking  from  my 
pocket  a  case  containing  a  fleam,  I  offered  it  to  him,  telling  him 
to  make  prompt  use  of  it  if  he  wished  to  save  the  life  of  the  poor 
brute.  He  answered,  with  a  malicious  phlegm,  while  declining 
the  instrument  I  offered,  that  it  was  of  no  consequence,  as  we 
were  at  the  end  of  the  stage.  Thereupon,  without  aiding  the 
unfortunate  coachman  to  disengage  the  animal,  he  entered  the 
stable  hard  by,  in  order  to  prepare  another  set  of  horses. 

The  Russians  are  far  from  having,  like  the  English,  a  law  to 
protect  animals  from  the  ill-treatment  of  men.  On  the  contrary, 
it  is  among  them  as  necessary  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  men,  as 
it  is  in  London  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  dogs  and  horses.  My 
feldjager  would  not  believe  in  the  existence  of  such  a  law. 

This  man,  who  is  a  Livonian  by  birth,  fortunately  for  me, 
speaks  German.  Under  the  exterior  of  an  officious  civility  and 
obsequious  language,  may  be  discovered  much  obstinacy  and  in- 
solence. His  figure  is  slim ;  his  flaxen  hair  gives  to  his  features 
an  infantile  appearance  which  belies  their  really  dry  and  harsh 
expression.  That  of  his  eyes,  more  especially,  is  crafty  and 
relentless.  They  are  grey,  edged  with  almost  white  lashes ;  his 
thick  eyebrows  are  very  light,  his  forehead  full,  but  low ;  his  skin 
would  be  fair  were  it  not  tanned  by  the  constant  action  of  the 
air;  his  mouth  is  finely  formed,  always  closed,  and  the  lips  so 
small  that  they  are  not  seen  until  he  speaks.  His  clean  and 
neatly-fitting  uniform  of  Russian  green,  with  a  leathern  belt 
round  his  waist,  buckled  in  front,  gives  him  a  certain  air  of  ele- 
gance. He  has  a  light  step,  but  an  extremely  slow  understand- 
ing. 

Notwithstanding  the  discipline  under  which  he  has  been  bred, 
it  can  be  perceived  that  he  .is  not  of  Russian  descent.  The  race 
half  Swedish,  half  Teutonic,  which  peoples  the  southern  side  of 
the  Gulf  of  Finland,  is  very  different  from  that  either  of  the 
Finns  or  the  Sclavonians.  The  real  Russians  are,  in  their  primi- 
tive endowments,  more  to  be  admired  than  the  mixed  popula- 
tions that  defend  the  frontiers  of  their  land. 


250  SPIRIT    OF    THE    GOVERNMENT. 

This  feldjager  inspires  me  but  with  little  confidence.  Offici- 
ally, he  is  my  guide  and  protector ;  nevertheless,  I  see  in  him 
only  a  disguised  spy,  and  feel  towards  him  as  I  should  towards 
one  who  might  at  any  moment  receive  an  order  to  become  my 
gaoler. 

The  Russian  people,  give  me  the  idea  of  being  men  endowed 
with  gentle  dispositions,  but  who  believe  themselves  born  exclu- 
sively for  violence.  With  the  easy  indifference  of  the  Orientals, 
they  unite  a  taste  for  the  arts,  which  is  tantamount  to  saying 
that  nature  has  given  them  the  desire  of  liberty ;  whilst  their 
masters  have  made  them  the  machines  of  oppression.  A  man,  as 
soon  as  he  rises  a  grade  above  the  common  level,  acquires  the 
right,  and,  furthermore,  contracts  the  obligation  to  maltreat  his 
inferiors,  to  whom  it  is  his  duty  to  transmit  the  blows  that  he  re- 
ceives from  those  above  him.  Thus  does  the  spirit  of  iniquity 
descend  from  stage  to  stage  down  to  the  foundations  of  this  un- 
happy society,  which  subsists  only  by  violence — a  violence  so 
great,  that  it  forces  the  slave  to  falsify  himself  by  thanking  his 
tyrant ;  .and  this  is  what  they  here  call  public  order ;  in  other 
words,  a  gloomy  tranquillity,  a  fearful  peace,  for  it  resembles  that 
of  the  tomb.  The  Russians,  however,  are  proud  of  this  calm. 
So  long  as  a  man  has  not  made  up  his  mind  to  go  on  all-fours,  he 
must  necessarily  pride  himself  in  something,  were  it  only  to  pre- 
serve his  right  to  the  title  of  a  human  creature. 

By  a  spirit  of  re-action  against  the  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
the  world  has  become,  especially  during  the  last  century,  of  one 
accord  in  extolling  ambition,  as  though  it  were  not  the  most  cruel 
the  most  unmerciful  of  the  passions,  and  as  though  society  were 
in  danger  of  wanting  proud  talents,  greedy  hearts,  and  domineer- 
ing minds.  But  more  particularly  is  ambition  conceded  to  gov- 
ernments. It  would  seem  as  though  the  heads  of  the  people 
were  especially  privileged  to  commit  iniquity.  For  my  part,  I 
cannot  perceive  any  moral  difference  between  the  unjust  covet- 
ousness  of  a  conquering  nation  and  the  attacks  of  an  armed  bri- 
gand. The  sole  distinction  to  be  made  between  public  and  indi- 
vidual crime  is,  that  the  one  produces  a  great,  the  other  a  little 
evil. 

The  Russians  excuse  themselves  in  their  own  eyes  under  the 
idea  that  the  government  to  which  they  submit  is  favourable  to 
their  ambitious  hopes  ;  but  an  object  that  can  only  be  attained 
by  such  means  must  be  bad.  The  people  are  an  interesting  lace  ; 
I  can  recognize  among  those  of  the  lowest  orders  an  intelligence 
in  their  pantomime,  a  suppleness  and  quickness  in  their  move- 


REFLECTIONS.  251 

ments,  an  ingenuity,  pensiveness,  and  grace  in  their  countenances, 
which  denote  men  of  good  blood ;  but  they  are  made  beasts  of 
burden.  Shall  they  persuade  me  that  it  is  necessary  to  manure 
the  soil  with  the  carcasses  of  this  human  cattle,  that  the  earth 
may  fatten  during  ages,  before  she  can  produce  generations  worthy 
of  reaping  the  glory  which  Providence  promises  the  Sclavonians  ? 
Providence  forbids  the  commission  of  a  small  evil  even  in  the 
hope  of  the  greatest  good. 

I  do  not  mean  that  they  should,  or  that  they  could,  in  the 
present  day,  govern  the  Russians  as  they  govern  the  other  Euro- 
pean lands  ;  but  I  mean  that  numerous  evils  would  be  avoided, 
if  the  example  of  gentleness  and  lenity  were  given  in  the  high- 
est quarters.  But  what  can  be  hoped  from  a  nation  of  flatterers, 
flattered  by  their  sovereign  ?  Instead  of  elevating  them  to  his 
level,  he  lowers  himself  to  theirs. 

If  the  politeness  of  the  court  can  influence  the  outward  man- 
ners even  of  the  lowest  classes,  is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  an  example  of  clemency,  given  by  an  absolute  prince,  would 
inspire  with  the  sentiments  of  humanity  the  hearts  of  his  entire 
people  ? 

Exercise  severity  against  those  who  do  evil,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  gentleness  towards  those  who  suffer,  and  you  will  change 
your  herd  into  a  nation — a  change  difficult  to  effect,  no  doubt, 
but  is  it  not  to  execute  things  that  would  be  impossible  to  others 
that  you  are  declared  and  recognised  all-powerful  here  below  ? 
The  man  who  occupies  the  place  of  God  upon  earth  ought  to  ac- 
knowledge no  other  possibility  but  that  of  doing  evil.  He  is 
constrained  to  resemble  Providence  in  order  to  legitimate  the 
power  which  he  ascribes  to  himself. 

You  wish  to  govern  the  earth,  as  in  the  times  of  old,  by  con- 
quest :  you  seek  to  possess,  by  force  of  arms,  the  countries  which 
you  can  conveniently  thus  attack,  and  you  strive  to  oppress  the 
rest  of  the  world  by  overawing  it.  The  extension  of  power  of 
which  you  dream  is  no  more  rational,  than  it  is  moral ;  and  if 
God  accords  it  to  you,  it  will  be  for  the  misfortune  of  the  world. 

I  know,  too  well,  the  earth  is  not  the  scene  on  which  unmixed 
justice  is  to  triumph.  Nevertheless,  the  principle  remains  im- 
mutable :  evil  is  evil  in  itself,  without  regard  to  its  results ; 
whether  it  ministers  to  the  loss  or  the  aggrandizement  of  a  peo- 
ple, to  the  fortune  or  misfortune  of  a  man,  it  has  always  the  same 
weight  in  the  eternal  balance.  Neither  the  perversity  of  an  indi- 
vidual nor  the  crimes  of  a  government  can  ever  coincide  with  the 
will  of  Providence.  God  can  no  more  excuse  the  offences  of  a 


252  REFLECTIONS. 

prince  and  his  people  than  He  can  those  of  a  captain  of  banditti 
and  his  troop.  But  if  he  has  not  willed  guilty  actions,  the  results 
of  occurrences  ever  accord  with  the  views  of  his  justice  ;  for  this 
justice  has  willed  the  consequences,  though  it  has  not  willed  the 
crime.  God  is  carrying  on  the  education  of  the  human  race,  and 
all  education  consists  of  a  series  of  trials. 

The  conquests  of  the  Roman  Empire  have  not  shaken  the 
Christian  faith  ;  the  oppressive  power  of  Russia  will  not  prevent 
the  same  faith  from  subsisting  in  the  hearts  of  the  just.  Faith 
will  remain  upon  earth  as  long  as  the  inexplicable  and  the  in- 
comprehensible. 

In  a  world  where  every  thing  is  mystery,  from  the  rise  and 
fall  of  nations  to  the  production  and  the  disappearance  of  a  leaf 
(in  which  leaf,  the  microscrope  shows  us  as  much  of  the  interven- 
tion of  God,  as  the  telescope  does  in  the  heavens,  or  as  great 
events  do  in  history),  faith  strengthens  herself  by  the  experience 
of  each  day,  for  faith  is  the  only  light  which  comports  with  the 
necessities  of  a  being  surrounded  with  clouds,  and  who,  in  his 
own  nature,  cannot  rise  above  doubt. 

If  we  were  destined  to  suffer  the  ignominy  of  a  new  invasion, 
the  triumph  of  the  conquerors  would  only  prove  to  me  the  faults 
of  the  vanquished.  In  the  eyes  of  a  man  who  thinks,  success  is 
indicative  of  nothing,  unless  it  be  that  the  life  of  earth  is  not  the 
first*  nor  the  last  mode  of  human  existence.  Let  us  leave  to  the 
Jews  their  interested  belief,  and  let  us  remember  the  words  of 
Jesus  Christ :  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world. 

These  words,  which  so  shock  the  feelings  of  the  worldly  man, 
we  are  obliged  to  repeat  to  ourselves  at  every  step  we  take  in 
Russia.  At  the  sight  of  so  many  inevitable  sufferings,  of  so  many 
necessary  cruelties,  of  so  many  unwiped  tears,  of  so  many  ini- 
quities, voluntary  and  involuntary,  for  here  injustice  pervades  the 
very  air  ;  before  the  spectacle  of  these  calamities,  spread,  not  over 
a  family  or  a  city,  but  over  a  race,  over  a  people  inhabiting  the 
third  part  of  the  globe,  the  mind,  dismayed,  is  constrained  to  turn 
from  earth,  and  to  exclaim,  "  My  God !  it  is  true,  thy  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world." 

Alas!  why  have  my  words  so  little  power?  Why  can  they 
not  equal  in  their  energy  the  excess  of  a  misery  of  which  we  can 
only  show  our  sense  by  an  excess  of  pity  ?  The  spectacle  of 
this  community,  all  of  whose  springs  are  stretched  like  the  lock 
of  a  firearm  of  which  the  trigger  is  about  to  be  drawn,  inspires 
me  with  a  feeling  of  oppression  that  almost  makes  me  dizzy. 

*  Ni  le  premier  ni  le  dernier  mode  de  la  vie  humaiuc. 


ENGLISH    CARRIAGES    ON    RUSSIAN    ROADS.  253 

Since  I  have  lived  in  this  country,  and  especially  since  I  have 
known  the  heart  of  the  man  who  governs  it,  I  have  felt  a  fever 
which  I  glory  in  ;  for  if  the  air  of  tyranny  suffocates  me,  if  false- 
hood disgusts  me,  I  must  be  born  for  something  better,  and  the 
wants  of  my  nature,  too  elevated  to  be  satisfied  in  such  societies 
as  I  contemplate  here,  predict  for  me  and  my  fellows  a  purer  hap- 
piness. God  has  not  endowed  us  with  faculties  intending  them 
to  remain  unemployed  ;  His  decree  has  assigned  to  each  his  place 
from  all  eternity ;  our  part  is,  not  to  render  ourselves  unworthy 
of  the  glory  he  reserves  for  us.  All  that  is  best  in  us  has  its  end 
in  Him. 

The  reader  will  wonder  what  it  can  be  that  has  condemned 
him  to  the  perusal  of  these  reflections.  An  accident  has  hap- 
pened to  my  carriage,  which  gives  me  leisure  to  record  my 
thoughts. 

Some  leagues  from  this  place  I  met  a  Kussian  of  my  ac- 
quaintance, who  had  been  to  visit  one  of  his  estates,  and  was 
returning  to  Petersburg.  We  stopped  to  talk  for  a  short  time. 
The  Russian,  after  casting  his  eye  over  my  carriage,  began  to 
laugh,  and,  pointing  to  its  various  complicated  parts,  said,  "  You 
see  all  these  things,  they  will  not  keep  together  till  you  reach 
Moscow :  foreigners  who  persist  in  using  their  own  carriages 
when  in  our  country,  set  out  as  you  did,  but  return  by  the  dili- 
gence." 

"  In  going  no  further  than  Moscow  even  ?  " 

"  No  farther  even  than  Moscow." 

"  The  Russians  told  me  that  it  was  the  best  road  in  all 
Europe ;  I  took  them  at  their  word." 

"  There  are  bridges  yet  wanting :  the  road  in  many  parts  re- 
quires mending ;  the  highway  has  frequently  to  be  left  in  order 
to  cross  temporary  bridges  of  rude  construction,  and,  owing  to 
the  carelessness  of  our  drivers,  the  carriages  of  foreigners  al- 
ways break  in  these  awkward  places." 

"  My  carriage  is  an  English  one,  and  its  goodness  has  already 
been  well  tested  by  long  journeys." 

"  They  drive  no  where  so  fast  as  in  Russia :  the  carriages, 
under  this  rapid  motion,  go  through  all  the  movements  of  a  ves- 
sel in  a  storm,  the  pitching  and  the  rolling  combined.  To  resist 
such  strains  on  a  road  like  this,  which,  though  even,  is  very  hard, 
it  is  necessary,  I  again  repeat,  that  the  carriages  should  be  built 
in  the  country." 

"  You  have  still  the  old  prejudice  for  heavy  and  massive  equi- 
pages ;  they  are  not,  however,  the  strongest." 


254  THE  COUNTRY  PEOPLE. 

"  I  wish  you  a  pleasant  journey  :  let  me  hear  if  your  carriage 
reaches  Moscow." 

Scarcely  had  I  left  this  bird  of  ill  omen  when  a  part  of  the 
axle  broke.  Fortunately,  we  were  near  the  end  of  the  stage, 
where  I  am  now  detained.  I  should  mention  that  I  have  yet 
only  travelled  18  leagues  out  of  the  180  ....  I  shall  be  obliged 
to  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  fast  driving,  and  am  learning  to 
say  in  Russian,  "  gently,"  which  is  just  the  opposite  of  the  usual 
motto  of  Russian  travellers. 

A  Russian  coachman,  attired  in  his  cafetan  of  coarse  cloth,  or, 
if  the  weather  be  warm,  as  it  is  to-day,  in  his  coloured  shirt  or 
tunic,  appears  at  first  sight,  like  an  Oriental.  In  simply  observ- 
ing the  attitude  he  assumes  when  placing  himself  upon  his  seat, 
we  may  recognise  the  grace  of  the  Asiatic.  In  travelling  post, 
the  Russians  drive  from  the  box,  dispensing  with  postilions,  un- 
less a  very  heavy  carriage  requires  a  set  of  six  or  eight  horses, 
and  even  in  that  case  one  of  the  men  mounts  the  box.  The 
coachman  holds  in  his  hands  a  whole  bundle  of  cords  :  these  are 
the  eight  reins  of  the  team,  two  for  each  of  the  four  horses  har- 
nessed abreast.  The  grace,  ease,  agility  and  safety  with  which 
he  directs  this  picturesque  set-out,  the  quickness  of  his  slightest 
movements,  the  lightness  of  his  step  when  he  reaches  the  ground, 
his  erect  stature,  his  manner  of  wearing  his  dress,  in  short,  his 
whole  person  reminds  me  of  the  most  naturally  elegant  people  on 
earth — the  Gitanos  *  of  Spain.  The  Russians  are  fair-complex- 
ioned  Gitanos. 

I  have  already  noticed  some  female  peasants  less  ugly  than 
those  seen  in  the  streets  of  Petersburg.  Their  form  invariably 
wants  elegance,  but  their  complexion  is  fresh  and  bright.  At 
this  season,  their  head-dress  consists  of  an  Indian  handkerchief, 
bound  round  the  brow,  and  the  ends  of  which  fall  behind  with  a 
grace  that  is  natural  to  the  people.  They  often  wear  a  little 
pelisse  reaching  to  the  knees,  drawn  round  the  waist  by  a  girdle, 
slit  on  each  side  below  the  hips,  and  opening  in  front  so  as  to 
show  the  petticoat  underneath.  The  appearance  of  this  dress  is 
tasteful,  but  it  is  their  boots  which  disfigure  the  persons  of  the 
women.  The  leather  is  greasy,  the  feet  are  large  and  rounded  at 
the  toe,  and  the  folds  and  wrinkles  entirely  conceal  the  shape  of 
the  legs  :  so  clumsy  are  they,  that  it  might  be  supposed  the  wives 
had  stolen  them  from  their  husbands. 

The  houses  resemble  those  that  I  described  in  the  excursion 

*  Gipsies. — Trans. 


THE    VILLAGES.  255 

to  Schlusselburg,  but  they  are  not  so  elegant.  The  appearance 
of  the  villages  is  monotonous.  A  village  consists  always  of  two 
lines,  more  or  less  extended,  of  wooden  cottages,  regularly  ranged 
at  a  certain  distance  backwards  from  the  road,  for,  in  general, 
the  street  of  the  village  is  broader  than  the  embankment  of  the 
highway.  Each  cabin,  constructed  of  pieces  of  roughly-hewn 
wood,  presents  its  gable  to  the  street.  All  these  habitations  are 
of  similar  construction  ;  but,  notwithstanding  their  wearisome 
uniformity,  an  air  of  comfort,  and  even  prosperity,  appears  to 
reign  in  the  villages.  They  are  rural  without  being  picturesque. 
I  breathe  in  them  the  calm  of  pastoral  life,  which  is  doubly 
agreeable  after  Petersburg.  The  country  people  are  not  gay  or 
smiling,  but  they  have  not  the  miserable  appearance  of  the  sol- 
diers and  the  dependents  of  the  government.  Among  all  the 
Russians,  these  are  they  who  suffer  least  from  the  want  of  liberty. 
The  labours  of  agriculture  tend  to  reconcile  man  to  social  life, 
whatever  it  may  cost ;  they  inspire  him  with  patience,  and  ena- 
ble him  to  support  every  thing,  provided  he  is  allowed  to  give 
himself  up  to  occupations  which  are  so  congenial  to  his  nature. 

The  country  that  I  have  hitherto  traversed  is  a  poor,  marshy 
forest,  covered,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  over  a  sterile  plain, 
with  miserable,  stunted,  and  thinly-scattered  birch  and  pine  ; 
there  are  neither  cultivated  lands  nor  thick  nourishing  planta- 
tions of  wood  to  be  seen.  The  cattle  are  of  a  wretched  breed. 
The  climate  oppresses  the  animals  as  much  as  despotism  does 
the  men.  It  might  be  said  that  nature  and  society  vie  with  each 
other  in  their  efforts  to  render  life  difficult.  When  we  think  of 
the  physical  obstacles  that  had  here  to  be  encountered  in  order 
to  organise  a  society,  we  have  no  longer  a  right  to  be  surprised 
at  any  thing,  unless  it  be  that  material  civilisation  is  as  far  ad- 
vanced as  we  perceive  it  to  be  among  a  people  so  little  favoured 
by  nature. 

Can  it  be  true  that  there  are  in  the  unity  of  ideas,  and  the 
fixedness  of  things,  compensations  for  even  the  most  revolting 
oppression  ?  I  think  not ;  but  were  it  proved  to  me  that  this 
system  was  the  only  one  under  which  the  Russian  empire  could 
have  been  founded  or  maintained,  I  should  answer  by  a  simple 
question  :  was  it  essential  to  the  destinies  of  the  human  race  that 
the  marshes  of  Finland  should  be  peopled,  and  that  the  unfortu- 
nate beings  brought  there  should  erect  a  city  marvellous  to  be- 
hold, but  which  is  in  reality  nothing  more  than  a  mimicry  of 
Western  Europe  ?  The  civilised  world  has  only  gained  from 
the  aggrandisement  of  the  Muscovites  the  fear  of  a  new  invasion, 


256  ASPECT    OF   THE    COUNTRY. 

and  the  model  of  a  despotism  without  pity  and  without  precedent, 
unless  it  be  in  ancient  history. 

The  house  in  which  I  write  exhibits  a  taste  and  neatness  that 
contrast  strangely  with  the  nakedness  of  the  surrounding  country. 
It  is  both  post-house  and  tavern,  and  I  find  it  almost  clean.  It 
might  be  taken  for  the  country-house  of  some  retired,  indepen- 
dent person.  Stations  of  this  kind,  though  not  so  well  kept  as 
that  of  Pomerania,  are  maintained,  at  certain  distances  on  the 
road,  at  the  expense  of  government.  The  walls  and  ceilings  of 
the  one  I  am  in  are  painted  as  in  Italy ;  the  ground  floor,  com- 
posed of  several  spacious  rooms,  very  much  resembles  a  restaura- 
teur in  one  of  the  French  provinces.  The  furniture  is  covered 
with  leather  ;  large  sofas  are  every  where  to  be  found,  which 
might  serve  as  a  substitute  for  beds,  but  I  have  had  too  much 
experience  to  think  of  sleeping  or  even  of  sitting  on  them.  In 
Russian  inns,  not  excepting  those  of  the  best  description,  all 
wooden  furniture  with  stuffed  cushions  are  so  many  hives  where 
vermin  swarm  and  multiply. 

I  carry  with  me  my  bed,  which  is  a  master-piece  of  Russian 
industry.  If  I  break  down  again  before  reaching  Moscow,  I 
shall  have  time  to  make  use  of  this  piece  of  furniture,  and  shall 
applaud  myself  for  my  precaution. 


I  am  now  writing  at  Yedrova,  between  Great  Novgorod  and 
Valdai.  There  are  no  distances  in  Russia — so  say  the  Russians, 
and  all  the  travellers  have  agreed  to  repeat  the  saying.  I  had 
adopted  the  same  notion,  but  unpleasant  experience  now  obliges 
me  to  maintain  precisely  the  contrary.  There  is  nothing  but 
distance  in  Russia ;  nothing  but  empty  plains  extending  farther 
than  the  eye  can  reach.  Two  or  three  interesting  spots  are  se- 
parated from  each  other  by  immense  spaces.  These  intervals  are 
deserts,  void  of  all  picturesque  beauty  ;  the  high  road  destroys 
the  poetry  of  the  steppe  ;  and  there  remains  nothing  but  exten- 
sion of  space,  monotony,  and  sterility.  All  is  naked  and  poor  ; 
there  is  nothing  to  inspire  awe  as  on  a  soil  made  illustrious  by 
the  glory  of  its  inhabitants, — a  soil  like  Greece  or  Judea,  devas- 
tated by  history,  and  become  the  poetical  cemetery  of  nations  : 
neither  is  there  any  of  the  grandeur  of  a  virgin  nature  ;  the 
scene  is  merely  ugly ;  it  is  sometimes  a  dry  plain,  sometimes  a 
marshy,  and  these  two  species  of  sterility  alone  vary  the  land- 
scape. A  few  villages,  becoming  less  neat  in  proportion  as  the 


COSTUME  OF  THE  PEASANTRY.  257 

distance  from  Petersburg  increases,  sadden  the  landscape  instead 
of  enlivening  it.  The  houses  are  only  piles  of  the  trunks  of 
trees,  badly  put  together,  and  supporting  roofs  of  plank,  to 
which,  in  winter,  an  extra  cover  of  thatch  is  sometimes  added. 
These  dwellings  must  be  warm,  but  their  appearance  is  cheerless. 
The  rooms  are  dark,  and  tainted  for  want  of  air.  They  have  no 
beds ;  in  summer  the  inmates  sleep  on  benches  which  form  a 
divan  around  the  walls  of  the  chamber,  and  in  winter,  on  the 
stove,  or  on  the  floor  around  it ;  in  other  words,  a  Russian  pea- 
sant encamps  all  his  life.  The  word  reside  implies  a  comfortable 
mode  of  life ;  domestic  habits  are  unknown  to  this  people. 

In  passing  through  Great  Novgorod  I  saw  none  of  the  an- 
cient edifices  of  that  city,  which  was  for  a  long  time  a  republic, 
and  which  became  the  cradle  of  the  Russian  empire.  I  was  fast 
asleep  when  we  drove  through  it.  If  I  return  to  Germany  by 
Wilna  and  Warsaw,  I  shall  neither  have  seen  the  Volkof,  that 
river  which  was  the  tomb  of  so  many  citizens, — for  the  turbulent 
republic  did  not  spare  the  life  of  its  children, — nor  yet  the 
Church  of  Saint  Sophia,  with  which  is  associated  the  memory  of 
the  most  glorious  events  in  Russian  history,  before  the  devasta- 
tion and  final  subjection  of  Novgorod  by  Ivan  IV.,  that  model 
of  all  modern  tyrants. 

I  had  heard  much  of  the  mountains  of  Valdai',  which  the 
Russians  pompously  entitle  the  Muscovite  Switzerland.  I  am 
approaching  this  city,  and,  for  the  last  thirty  leagues,  have  ob- 
served that  the  surface  of  the  soil  has  become  uneven,  though  not 
mountainous.  It  is  indented  with  numerous  small  ravines,  where 
the  road  is  so  formed  that  we  mount  and  descend  the  declivities 
at  a  gallop.  It  is  only  when  changing  horses  that  time  is  lost, 
for  the  Russian  hostlers  are  slow  in  harnessing  and  putting-to. 

The  peasants  of  this  canton  wear  a  cap,  broad  and  flat  at  the 
top,  but  fitting  very  closely  round  the  head  ;  it  resembles  a  mush- 
room ;  a  peacock's  feather  is  sometimes  twisted  round  the  band, 
and  when  the  men  wear  a  hat,  the  same  ornament  is  also  adopted. 
Instead  of  boots,  they  most  commonly  have  plats  of  reeds,  woven 
by  the  peasants  themselves,  and  worn  as  leggings  fastened  with 
packthread  laces.  They  look  better  iu  sculpture  than  on  the 
living  man.  Some  ancient  statues  prove  the  antiquity  of  the 
attire. 

The  female  peasants  are  rarely  to  be  seen.*     We  met  ten  men 

*  But  little  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago  the  Russian  women  never 
went  abroad. 


258  RUSSIAN    LADIES    EN    DESHABILLE. 

for  one  woman.  Such  as  I  have  noticed  wear  a  dress  that  indi- 
cates a  total  absence  of  female  vanity.  It  consists  of  a  species 
of  dressing-gown,  very  wide  and  loose,  which  fastens  round  the 
neck  and  reaches  to  the  ground.  A  large  apron  of  the  same 
length,  fastened  across  the  shoulders  by  two  short  straps,  com- 
pletes their  rustic  and  ungainly  costume.  They  nearly  all  go 
barefoot ;  the  wealthier  only  wear  the  clumsy  boots  I  have  already 
described.  Indian  handkerchiefs,  or  other  pieces  of  stuff,  are 
bound  closely  round  the  head.  The  real  national  female  head- 
dress is  only  worn  on  holydays.  It  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
ladies  at  court ;  a  species,  namely,  of  shako,  open  at  the  top,  or 
rather  a  very  lofty  diadem >  embroidered  with  precious  stones 
when  worn  by  the  ladies,  and  with  flowers  in  gold  or  silver  thread 
when  on  the  heads  of  the  peasants.  This  crown  has  an  imposing 
effect,  and  resembles  no  other  kind  of  head-dress,  unless  it  be  the 
tower  of  the  goddess  Cybele. 

The  peasant  women  are  not  the  only  Russian  females  who 
neglect  their  persons.  I  have  seen  ladies  whose  dress  when  tra- 
velling was  of  the  most  slovenly  description.  This  morning,  in  a 
post-house  where  I  stopped  to  breakfast,  I  encountered  an  entire 
family  whom  I  had  left  in  Petersburg,  where  they  inhabit  one  of 
those  elegant  palaces  which  the  Russians  are  so  proud  of  showing 
to  foreigners.  There,  these  ladies  were  splendidly  attired  in  the 
Paris  fashions;  but  at  the  inn  where,  thanks  to  the  new  accident 
that  had  happened  to  my  carriage,  I  was  overtaken  by  them, 
they  were  altogether  different  persons.  So  whimsically  were  they 
metamorphosed  that  I  could  scarcely  recognise  them  :  the  fairies 
had  become  sorceresses.  Imagine  young  ladies  whom  you  had 
never  seen  except  in  elegant  society,  suddenly  re-appearing  before 
you  in  a  costume  worse  than  that  of  Cinderella;  dressed  in  night- 
caps, of  which  it  could  only  be  said  that  they  might  have  once 
been  white,  extremely  dirty  gowns,  neck-handkerchiefs  that  re- 
sembled ragged  napkins,  and  old  shoes  in  which  they  walked 
slipshod.  It  was  enough  to  make  a  man  fancy  his  eyes  be- 
witched, 

The  fair  travellers  were  attended  by  a  considerable  retinue. 
The  multitude  of  lacqueys  and  waiting-women,  muffled  in  old 
clothes  still  more  loathsome  than  those  of  their  mistresses,  moving 
about  in  all  directions,  and  keeping  up  an  infernal  noise,  com- 
pleted the  illusion  that  it  was  the  scene  of  a  meeting  of  witches. 
They  screamed  and  scampered  here  and  there,  drank,  and  stuffed 
themselves  with  eatables  in  a  manner  that  was  sufficient  to  take 
away  the  appetite  of  the  most  hungry  beholder ;  and  yet  these 


SMALL    RUSSIAN    TOWNS.  259 

ladies  could  complain  before  me  in  an  affected  manner  of  the 
dirtiness  of  the  post-houses, — as  if  they  had  any  right  to  find  fault 
with  slovenliness.  I  could  have  imagined  myself  amid  a  camp  of 
gipsies,  except  that  gipsies  are  without  pretence  or  affectation.  I, 
who  pique  myself  on  not  being  fastidious  when  travelling,  find 
the  post-houses  established  on  this  road  by  the  government,  that 
is,  by  the  Emperor,  sufficiently  comfortable.  I  consider  that  I 
have  fared  well  in  them ;  a  man  may  even  sleep  at  night,  provided 
he  can  dispense  with  a  bed  ;  for  this  nomade  people  are  acquainted 
only  with  the  Persian  carpet  or  a  sheep-skin,  or  a  mat  stretched 
upon  a  divan  under  a  tent,  whether  of  canvas  or  of  wood,  for  in 
either  case  it  is  a  souvenir  of  the  bivouac.  The  use  of  a  bed,  as 
an  indispensable  article  of  furniture,  has  not  yet  been  recognised 
by  the  people  of  Sclavonian  race  ;  beds  are  rarely  seen  beyond  the 
Oder. 

Sometimes,  on  the  borders  of  the  little  lakes  which  are  scattered 
over  the  immense  marsh  called  Russia,  a  distant  town  is  to  be 
seen;  a  cluster,  namely,  of  small  houses  built  of  grey  boards, 
which,  reflected  in  the  water,  produce  a  very  picturesque  effect. 
I  have  passed  through  two  or  three  of  these  hives  of  men,  but 
I  have  only  particularly  noticed  the  town  of  Zimagoy.  It  consists 
of  a  rather  steep  street  of  wooden  houses,  and  is  a  league  in  length; 
at  some  distance,  on  the  other  side  of  one  of  the  creeks  of  the 
little  lake  on  which  it  stands,  is  seen  a  romantic  convent,  whose 
white  towers  rise  conspicuously  above  a  forest  of  firs,  which  ap- 
peared to  me  loftier  and  more  thickly  grown  than  any  that  I  have 
hitherto  observed  in  Russia.  When  I  think  on  the  consumption  of 
wood  in  this  country,  both  for  the  construction  and  the  warming  of 
houses,  I  am  astonished  that  any  forests  remain  in  the  land.  All 
that  I  had  hitherto  seen  were  miserable  thickets,  scattered  here 
and  there,  which  could  only  serve  to  interfere  with  the  culture  of 
the  soil. 


I  resume  my  pen  at  Torjeck.  It  is  impossible  to  see  far  on 
plains,  because  every  object  is  a  barrier  to  the  eye ;  a  bush,  a  rail, 
or  a  building  conceals  leagues  of  land  between  itself  and  the 
horizon.  It  may  also  be  observed  that,  here,  no  landscape  en- 
graves itself  on  the  memory,  no  sites  attract  the  eye,  not  one  pic- 
turesque line  is  to  be  discovered.  On  a  surface  void  of  all  objects 
or  variety,  there  should  at  least  be  the  hues  of  the  southern  sky; 
but  they  also  are  wanting  hi  this  part  of  Russia,  where  nature 
must  be  viewed  as  an  absolute  nullity. 


260  TORJECK    CHICKEN    COTELETTES. 

What  they  call  the  mountains  of  Valdai,  are  a  series  of  de- 
clivities and  acclivities  as  monotonous  as  the  heathy  plains  of 
Novgorod. 

The  town  of  Torjeck  is  noted  for  its  manufactures  of  leather. 
Here  are  made  those  beautifully-wrought  boots,  those  slippers 
embroidered  with  gold  and  silver  thread,  which  are  the  delight  of 
the  elegants  of  Europe,  especially  of  those  who  love  any  thing 
that  is  singular,  provided  it  comes  from  a  distance.  The  travel- 
lers who  pass  through  Torjeck  pay  there  for  its  manufactured 
leathers  a  much  larger  price  than  that  at  which  they  are  sold  in 
Petersburg  or  Moscow.  The  beautiful  morocco,  or  perfumed 
Russian  leather,  is  made  at  Kazan :  they  say  it  is  at  the  fair  of 
Nijni  that  it  can  be  bought  most  cheaply,  and  that  a  selection 
may  be  made  out  of  mountains  of  skins. 

Torjeck  is  also  celebrated  for  its  chicken  cotelettes.  The  Em- 
peror, stopping  one  day  at  a  little  inn  of  this 'town,  was  served 
with  a  hash  of  fattened  chickens,  which  to  his  great  astonishment 
he  found  excellent.  Immediately,  the  cotelettes  of  Torjeck  became 
celebrated  throughout  Russia.*  The  following  is  their  origin. 
An  unfortunate  Frenchman  had  been  well  received  and  treated 
here  by  a  female  innkeeper.  Before  leaving,  he  said  to  her,  "  I 
cannot  pay  you,  but  I  will  make  your  fortune  ;  "  whereupon  he 
showed  her  how  to  make  chicken  cotelettes.  As  good  luck  would 
have  it,  the  precious  recipe  was,  at  least  so  it  is  said,  first  pre- 
pared for  the  Emperor.  The  innkeeper  of  Torjeck  is  dead;  but 
her  children  have  inherited  her  renown,  and  they  maintain  it. 

Torjeck,  when  that  town  first  breaks  upon  the  view  of  the 
traveller,  conveys  the  idea  of  a  camp  in  the  midst  of  an  immense 
corn-field.  Its  white  houses,  its  towers  and  pavilion-shaped 
domes,  remind  him  of  the  mosques  and  minarets  of  the  East. 
Gilded  turrets,  round  and  square  steeples,  some  ornamented  with 
little  columns,  and  all  painted  green  or  blue,  announce  the  vicin- 
ity of  Moscow.  The  land  around  is  well  cultivated.  It  is  a  plain 
covered  with  rye,  which  plain,  though  devoid  of  all  other  objects, 
I  greatly  prefer  to  the  sickly  woods  that  have  wearied  my  eyes 
for  the  last  two  days.  The  tilled  earth  is  at  any  rate  fertile,  and 
the  richness  of  a  country  will  lead  us  to  forgive  its  want  of  pic- 
turesque beauty  ;  but  a  track  that  is  sterile,  and  that  yet  pos- 
sesses none  of  the  majesty  of  the  wilderness,  is  of  all  others  the 
most  tedious  to  travel  over. 

*  There  is  nothing  which  an  Emperor  of  Russia  could  not  bring  into  fash- 
ion in  his  country.  At  Milan,  if  the  -viceroy  patronises  an  actor  or  singer, 
the  reputation  of  the  artist  is  at  once  lost,  and  he  is  hissed  unmercifully. 


A    DOUBLE    ROAD.  261 

I  had  forgotten  to  mention  a  singular  object  which  struck  me 
at  the  commencement  of  the  journey. 

Between  Petersburg  and  Novgorod,  I  remarked,  for  several 
successive  stages,  a  second  road  that  ran  parallel  to  the  principal 
highway,  though  at  a  considerable  distance  from  it.  It  was  fur- 
nished with  bridges  and  every  thing  else  that  could  render  it  safe 
and  passable,  although  it  was  much  less  handsome,  and  less  smooth, 
than  the  grand  route.  I  asked  the  keeper  of  a  posti-house  the 
meaning  of  this  singularity,  and  was  answered,  through  my  feld- 
jager,  that  the  smaller  road  was  destined  for  wagons,  cattle,  and 
travellers,  when  the  Emperor,  or  other  members  of  the  Imperial 
family,  proceeded  to  Moscow.  The  dust  and  obstructions  that 
might  incommode  or  retard  the  august  travellers,  if  the  grand 
route  remained  open  to  the  public,  were  thus  avoided.  I  cannot 
tell  whether  the  innkeeper  was  amusing  himself  at  my  expense, 
but  he  spoke  in  a  very  serious  manner,  and  seemed  to  consider  it 
very  natural  that  the  sovereign  should  engross  the  road  in  a  land 
where  the  sovereign  is  every  thing.  The  king  who  said  "lam 
France,"  stopped  to  let  a  flock  of  sheep  pass  ;  and  under  his  reign, 
the  foot  passenger,  the  waggoner,  and  the  clown  who  travelled 
the  public  road,  repeated  our  old  adage  to  the  princes  whom  they 
met :  "  The  highway  belongs  to  every  body  :  "  what  really  con- 
stitutes a  law  is,  not  its  letter,  but  the  manner  in  which  it  is  ap- 
plied. 

In  France,  manners  and  customs  have  in  every  age  rectified 
political  institutions ;  in  Russia,  the  harshness  of  the  institutes 
is  increased  in  their  application,  so  that,  there,  the  consequences 
are  worse  than  the  principles. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

foy  Coachmen.— The  Road.— Gracefulness  of  the  People.— Dress  of  the  Women.— The  See- 
saw.— Beauty  of  the  Female  Peasants.— Russian  Cottages.— Customs  of  the  Serfs.— Devout 
Thieves. — Want  of  Principle  in  the  higher  Classes.— Female  Politicians.— Domestic  Hap- 
piness of  the  Serfs. — Casuistical  Reflections. — Connection  of  the  Church  and  Stale. — Abo- 
lition of  the  Patriarchate  of  Moscow.— Fundamental  Difference  between  Sects  and  a 
Mother  Church. — Adventures  of  a  Foal.— The  Author  injured  by  the  Moral  Atmosphere. 
— National  Moral  Responsibility.— Dream  of  a  waking  Man.— First  View  of  the  Volsa.— 
Spain  and  Russia  contrasted.— Dews  of  the  North. 

ONCE  again,  a  delay  on  the  road,  and  always  from  the  same  cause/ 
— we  break  down  regularly  every  twenty  leagues.  Of  a  truth, 
the  Russian  officer  at  Pomerania  was  a  settatore  ! 


262  MODE    OF    DRIVING. 

There  are  moments  when,  notwithstanding  my  protestations, 
and  the  reiterated  word  tAschne  (gently),  the  drivers  proceed  at  a 
rate  that  obliges  me  to  close  my  eyes  in  order  to  avoid  giddiness. 
Among  them,  I  have  not  seen  one  deficient  in  skill,  and  some  of 
them  possess  a  dexterity  that  is  extraordinary.  The  Neapolitans 
and  the  Russians  are  the  first  coachmen  in  the  world  ;  the  best 
among  them  are  old  men  and  children  :  the  children  especially 
surprise  me.  The  first  time  that  I  saw  my  carriage  and  my  life 
about  to  be  entrusted  to  the  care  of  an  infant  of  ten  years  old,  I 
protested  against  such  imprudence  ;  but  my  feldjager  assured  me 
it  was  the  custom,  and  as  his  person  was  exposed  as  much  as  mine, 
I  believed  him.  Our  four  horses,  whose  fiery  eagerness  and  wild 
appearance  were  by  no  means  adapted  to  re-assure  me,  set  off  at  a 
gallop.  The  experienced  child  knew  better  than  to  endeavour  to 
stop  them  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  urged  them  to  their  utmost  speed, 
and  the  carriage  followed  as  it  best  might.  This  pace,  which  ac- 
corded better  with  the  temperament  of  the  animals  than  the 
qualities  of  the  caliche,  was  kept  up  throughout  the  stage,  al- 
though, at  the  end  of  the  first  verst,  the  breathless  horses  began  to 
tire,  and  the  coachman  to  become  the  most  impatient.  Each  time 
they  relaxed  their  pace,  he  applied  the  whip  until  they  resumed 
their  former  speed.  The  emulation  which  easily  establishes  itself 
between  four  spirited  animals  harnessed  abreast,  soon  brought  us 
to  the  end  of  the  stage.  These  horses  would  rather  die  than  give 
in.  After  observing  their  character,  and  that  of  their  drivers,  I 
soon  perceived  that  the  word  tisc/m£,  which  I  had  learned  to  pro- 
nounce with  so  much  care,  was  utterly  useless  in  this  journey,  and 
that  I  should  even  expose  myself  to  accident  if  I  persisted  in 
checking  the  ordinary  rate  of  driving.  The  Russians  have  the 
gift  of  equilibrium ;  men  and  horses  would  lose  their  balance  in  a 
slow  trot.  Their  mode  of  getting  over  the  ground  would  greatly 
divert  me  if  my  carriage  were  of  more  solid  construction,  but  at 
each  turn  of  the  wheels  I  expect  it  to  fall  to  pieces  ;  and  we  break 
down  so  often  that  my  apprehensions  are  only  too  well  justified. 
Without  my  Italian  valet,  who  officiates  also  as  wheelwright  and* 
smith,  we  should  already  have  come  to  a  stand-still.  I  cannot 
cease  admiring  the  air  of  nonchalance  with  which  the  coachmen 
take  their  seats ;  there  is  a  grace  about  it  far  preferable  to  the 
studied  elegance  of  civilised  drivers.  In  descending  the  hills, 
they  rise  on  their  feet,  and  drive  standing,  the  body  slightly  bent, 
the  arms  stretched  forward,  and  the  eight  reins  drawn  well  up. 
In  this  attitude,  which  may  be  seen  in  ancient  bas-reliefs,  they 
might  be  taken  for  charioteers  of  the  circus.  When  thus  driving, 


GOOD  TASTE  OF  THE  PEOPLE.  263 

we  rush  through  the  air  amid  clouds  of  dust,  and  seem  scarcely 
to  touch  the  earth.  The  English  springs  cause  the  body  of  the 
coach  to  sway  like  a  vessel  in  a  heavy  gale,  and  there  appears 
then  to  be  established  between  the  will  of  man  and  the  instinct  of 
the  animals,  a  relation  which  I  cannot  understand.  It  is  not  by  a 
mechanical  impulse  that  the  equipage  is  guided  ! — there  seems  to 
be  an  interchange  of  thoughts  and  sentiments,  an  animal  magic, 
a  real  magnetic  influence.  The  coachman  is  miraculously  obeyed  ; 
he  guides  his  four  steeds  abreast  as  if  they  were  but  one  horse. 
Sometimes  he  draws  them  together  into  scarcely  more  space  than 
is  commonly  occupied  by  two  wheelers ;  sometimes  he  so  spreads 
them  out  that  they  cover  the  half  of  the  high  road.  In  point  of 
civilisation,  every  thing  is  incomplete  in  Russia,  because  every 
thing  is  modern.  On  the  finest  road  in  the  world,  there  are  still 
frequent  interruptions ;  repairs  going  on,  or  temporary  bridges  in 
place  of  broken  ones,  which  oblige  us  to  turn  off  the  road ;  this 
the  driver  does,  without  for  a  moment  slackening  the  pace.  The 
road  is  also  much  obstructed  by  the  little  carts  and  waggons  of 
carriers,  ten  of  which  are  often  guided  by  one  man,  who  cannot 
possibly  keep  them  all  in  line.  Without  great  dexterity  on  the 
part  of  the  Russian  coachmen,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  passage 
through  such  moving  labyrinths.  The  bodies  of  these  carriers' 
carts  resemble  large  casks  cut  in  half  lengthways,  and  open  at 
the  top ;  they  are  each  drawn  by  one  small  horse,  who,  without 
much  capacity  as  a  draught  horse,  is  full  of  courage  and  spirit, 
and  will  pull  until  he  falls  on  the  road  :  his  life  is,  therefore,  as 
short  as  it  is  devoted  :  in  Russia  a  horse  twelve  years  old  is  a 
phenomenon. 

Nothing  can  be  more  original,  more  different  to  what  is  seen 
elsewhere,  than  the  various  vehicles,  the  men  and  the  horses  that 
are  met  on  the  highways  of  this  country.  Every  thing  that  the 
people  touch,  wear,  or  carry,  takes,  unknown  to  themselves,  a 
picturesque  appearance  :  condemn  a  race  of  men,  less  naturally 
elegant,  to  make  use  of  the  houses,  dress,  and  utensils  of  the 
Russians,  and  all  these  things  would  appear  hideous ;  but  here  I 
find  them,  though  foreign  and  unusual,  striking  and  deserving  of 
being  painted.  Oblige  the  Russians  to  wear  the  costume  of  the 
Paris  workmen,  and  they  would  make  something  out  of  it  agreea- 
ble to  the  eye,  though  never  would  a  Russian  have  imagined  an 
attire  so  devoid  of  taste.  The  life  of  this  people  is  amusing,  if 
not  for  themselves,  at  least  for  a  spectator ;  the  ingenious  turn 
of  their  minds  has  found  means  to  triumph  over  the  climate,  and 
every  other  obstacle  that  nature  has  opposed  to  social  existence 


204  DRESS    OF    THE    WOMEN. 

in  a  desert  without  poetic  imagery.  The  contrast  of  the  blind 
political  submission  of  a  people  attached  to  the  soil,  with  the 
energetic  and  continual  struggle  of  that  same  people  against  the 
tyranny  of  a  climate  hostile  to  life,  their  conquests  over  nature 
achieved  while  they  themselves  remain  under  the  yoke  of  despot- 
ism, present  an  inexhaustible  store  for  both  lively  pictures  and 
serious  meditations.  To  make  a  journey  through  Russia  with 
full  advantage,  it  would  be  necessary  to  be  accompanied  by  a 
Montesquieu  and  a  Horace  Vernet. 

In  none  of  my  travels  have  I  so  much  regretted  my  little  ta- 
lent for  sketching.  Russia  is  less  known  than  India ;  it  has  been 
less  often  described  and  pictorially  illustrated;  it  is  nevertheless 
as  curious  a  country  as  any  in  Asia,  even  as  relates  to  the  arts, 
to  poetry,  and  to  history. 

Every  mind  seriously  occupied  with  the  ideas  which  ferment 
in  the  political  world,  cannot  but  profit  by  examining,  on  the 
spot,  a  community,  governed  on  the  principles  which  directed  the 
most  ancient  states  named  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  and  yet, 
already  imbued  with  the  ideas  that  are  common  among  the  most 
modern  and  revolutionary  nations.  The  patriarchal  tyranny  of 
the  Asiatic  governments,  in  contact  with  the  theories  of  modern 
philanthropy,  the  character  of  the  people  of  the  East  and  West, 
incompatible  by  nature,  yet  united  together  by  coercion  in  a  state 
of  society  semibarbarous,  but  kept  in  order  by  fear,  present  a 
spectacle  that  can  be  only  seen  in  Russia,  and,  assuredly,  one 
which  no  man  who  thinks,  would  regret  the  trouble  of  going  to 
contemplate. 

The  social,  intellectual,  and  political  state  of  present  Russia 
is  the  result,  and,  so  to  speak,  the  resume  of  the  reigns  of  Ivan 
IV.,  surnamed,  by  Russia  herself,  the  terrible ;  of  Peter  the 
First,  called  the  Great,  by  the  men  who  glory  in  aping  Europe  ; 
and  of  Catherine  II.,  deified  by  a  people  that  dreams  of  the  con- 
quest of  the  world.  Such  is  the  formidable  heritage  over  which 
the  Emperor  Nicholas  holds  sway — Grod  knows  to  what  purpose, 
and  our  posterity  will  know  also  ! 

I  continue  to  meet,  here  and  there,  a  few  female  peasants  who 
are  tolerably  pretty,  but  I  do  not  cease  to  exclaim  against  the 
ungraceful  appearance  of  their  costume.  It  is  not  by  their  attire 
that  the  taste  for  the  picturesque,  which  I  attribute  to  the  Rus- 
sians, must  be  judged.  The  dress  of  these  women  would  spoil 
beauty  the  most  perfect.  They  are,  I  think,  the  only  females 
in  the  world  who  have  taken  it  into  their  heads  to  make  them- 
selves a  waist  above,  instead  of  below  the  bosom.  Their  shape- 


'Ill  10    KKK-SAW.  265 

less  sacks  rather  than  gowns,  are  drawn  together  close  under  the 
armpits.  At  the  first  sight,  their  entire  person  gives  me  the  idea 
of  a  bale,  or  large,  loose  parcel,  in  which  all  the  parts  of  the  body 
are  confounded  together  without  care,  and  yet  without  liberty. 
But  this  costume  has  other  inconveniences  rather  difficult  to  de- 
scribe. One  of  the  worst  is  that  a  Russian  female  peasant  could 
suckle  her  child  over  her  shoulder,  as  do  the  Hottentots.  Such 
is  the  inevitable  deformity  produced  by  a  fashion  which  destroys 
the  shape  of  the  body.  The  Circassian  females,  who  better  under- 
stand the  beauty  of  woman  and  the  means  of  preserving  it,  wear, 
from  their  years  of  childhood,  a  belt  round  the  waist,  which  they 
never  cast  off. 

I  observed  at  Torjeck  a  variety  in  the  toilette  of  the  women, 
which  perhaps  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  The  females  of  that 
town  wear  a  short  mantle  of  velvet,  silk,  or  black  cloth,  a  kind 
of  pelerine,  which  I  have  not  seen  elsewhere,  it  being,  unlike  any 
other  sort  of  cape,  entirely  closed  in  front,  and  opening  behind 
between  the  shoulders.  It  is  more  singular  than  pretty  or  con- 
venient ;  but  singularity  suffices  to  amuse  a  stranger  :  what  we 
seek  in  travelling  are  proofs  that  we  are  not  at  home ;  though  this 
is  just  what  the  Russians  will  not  comprehend.  The  talent  of 
imitation  is  so  natural  to  them,  that  they  are  quite  shocked  when 
told  that  their  land  resembles  no  other.  Originality,  which  to 
us  appears  a  merit,  is  to  them  the  remains  of  barbarism.  They 
imagine  that  after  we  have  been  at  the  trouble  of  coming  so  far 
to  see  them,  we  ought  to  esteem  ourselves  very  fortunate  to  find, 
a  thousand  leagues  from  home,  a  bad  parody  of  what  we  left 
behind  through  love  of  change. 

The  see-saw  is  thefovourite  amusement  of  the  Russian  peasants. 
This  exercise  developes  their  natural  talent  for  adjusting  the 
equilibrium  of  the  body;  in  addition  to  which,  it  is  a  silent 
pleasure,  and  quiet  diversions  best  accord  with  the  feelings  of  a 
people  rendered  prudent  by  fear. 

Silence  presides  over  all  the  festivals  of  the  Russian  villagers. 
They  drink  plentifully,  speak  little,  and  shout  less ;  they  either 
remain  silent,  or  sing  in  chorus,  with  a  nasal  voice,  melancholy 
and  prolonged  notes,  which  form  a  harmonious,  but  by  no  means 
noisy  accord.  I  have  been  surprised,  however,  to  observe  that 
almost  all  these  melodies  are  deficient  in  simplicity. 

On  Sunday,  in  passing  through  populous  villages,  I  observed 

rows  of  from  four  to  eight  young  girls  balancing  themselves,  by  a 

scarcely  perceptible  movement  of  their  bodies,  on  boards  suspended 

by  ropes,  while,  at  a  little  distance  beyond,  an  equal  number  of 

12 


266  BEAUTIFUL    FEMALE    PEASANTS. 

boys  were  fixed  in  the  same  manner,  in  face  of  the  females.  Their 
mute  game  lasted  a  long  time ;  I  have  never  had  patience  to  wait 
its  conclusion.  Such  gentle  balancing  is  only  a  kind  of  interlude, 
which  serves  as  a  relaxation  in  the  intervals  of  the  animated 
diversion  of  their  real  swing  or  see-saw.  This  is  a  very  lively 
game;  it  even  renders  the  spectators  nervous.  Four  cords  hang 
from  a  lofty  cross-beam,  and,  at  about  two  feet  from  the  earth, 
sustain  a  plank,  on  the  extremities  of  which  two  persons  place 
themselves.  This  plank,  and  the  four  posts  which  support  it,  are 
placed  in  such  a  manner  that  the  balancing  may  be  performed 
either  backwards  or  forwards,  or  from  side  to  side.  The  two  per- 
formers, sometimes  of  the  same,  sometimes  of  the  opposite  sexes, 
place  themselves,  always  standing,  and  with  legs  firmly  planted, 
on  the  two  extremities  of  the  plank,  where  they  preserve  their 
balance  by  taking  hold  of  the  cords  In  this  attitude  they  are 
impelled  through  the  air  to  a  frightful  height,  for  at  every  swing 
the  machine  reaches  the  point  beyond  which  it  would  turn  com- 
pletely over,  and  its  occupiers  be  dashed  to  the  earth  from  a  height 
of  thirty  or  forty  feet,  for  I  have  seen  posts  at  least  twenty  feet 
high.  The  Russians,  whose  frames  are  singularly  supple,  easily 
maintain  a  balance  that  is  to  us  astonishing;  they  exhibit  much 
grace,  boldness,  and  agility  in  this  exercise. 

I  have  purposely  stopped  in  several  villages  to  observe  the  girls 
and  young  men  thus  amuse  themselves  together ;  and  I  have  at 
last  seen  some  female  faces  perfectly  beautiful.  Their  complexion- 
is  of  a  delicate  whiteness  ;  their  colour  is,  so  to  speak,  under  the 
skin,  which  is  transparent  and  exquisitely  smooth.  Their  teeth 
are  beautifully  white ;  and — rarely  seen  beauty  ! — their  mouths 
are  perfectly  formed  copies  of  the  antique ;  their  eyes,  generally 
blue,  have  nevertheless  the  Oriental  cast  of  expression,  with  also 
that  unquiet  and  furtive  glance  natural  to  the  Sclavonians,  who 
can  in  general  look  sideways,  and  even  behind,  without  turning 
their  heads.  Their  whole  appearance  possesses  a  great  charm ; 
but,  whether  from  a  caprice  of  nature,  or  the  effect  of  costume, 
these  beauties  are  much  less  often  seen  united  in  the  women  than 
in  the  men.  Among  a  hundred  female  peasants,  we  perhaps  meet 
with  but  one  really  beautiful,  whilst  the  great  majority  of  the 
men  are  remarkable  for  the  form  of  their  heads  and  the  graceful- 
ness of  their  features.  Among  the  old  men,  there  are  faces  with 
rosy  cheeks  and  silver  hair  and  beard,  of  which  it  may  be  said 
that  time  has  imparted  of  dignity  more  than  it  has  taken  of  youth. 
There  are  heads  that  would  be  more  beautiful  in  pictures  than 
any  thing  that  I  have  seen  of  Rubens'  or  Titian's,  but  I  have 
never  observed  an  elderly  female  face  worthy  of  being  painted. 


nsi'OMs  OF  THE  SERFS.  26*7 

I  sometimes  see  a  regularly  Grecian  profile  united  with  features 
of  so  extreme  a  delicacy  that  the  expression  of  the  countenance 
loses  nothing  by  the  perfect  regularity  of  the  lines.  In  such  cases 
I  am  struck  with  unbounded  admiration.  The  more  common 
mould,  however,  of  the  features  of  both  men  and  women  is  that  of 
the  Calmuc — high  cheek  bones  and  flattened  noses. 

I  have  entered  into  several  of  the  Russian  cottages  at  the  hour 
when  the  peasants  retire  to  rest.  These  cabins  are  almost  deprived 
of  vital  air,  and  have  no  beds  :  men  and  women  lie  stretched  pell- 
mell  on  the  wooden  benches  which  form  a  divan  around  the 
chamber ;  but  the  dirtiness  of  these  rustic  bivouacs  has  always 
arrested  my  progress;  I  have  quickly  retreated,  though  never 
speedily  enough  to  avoid  carrying  away  in  my  clothes  some  living 
memorial,  as  a  punishment  for  my  indiscreet  curiosity. 

As  a  protection  against  the  short  but  fervent  heats  of  sum- 
mer, a  divan,  under  a  species  of  veranda,  runs  round  some  cot- 
tages, and  serves  as  a  bed  for  the  family,  who  even  sometimes 
prefer  sleeping  on  the  naked  earth.  Recollections  of  the  East 
pursue  the  traveller  every  where.  At  all  the  post-houses  into 
which  I  have  entered  at  night,  I  have  invariably  found,  ranged 
in  the  street  before  the  door,  numerous  bundles  of  black  sheep- 
skins. These  fleeces,  which  I  at  first  took  for  sacks,  were  men, 
sleeping  under  the  bright  canopy  of  heaven.  We  have,  this 
year,  heats  such  as  have  not  been  known  in  the  memory  of  man 
in  Russia. 

The  sheep-skins,  cut  out  as  little  over-coats,  serve  not  only 
as  clothes,  but  likewise  for  beds,  carpets,  and  tents  to  the  Rus- 
sian peasants.  The  workmen,  when,  during  the  heat  of  the  day, 
they  take  their  siesta  in  the  fields,  make  a  picturesque  tent  of 
these  pelisses  to  protect  themselves  from  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
With  the  ingenious  address  which  distinguishes  the  Russian 
labourers  from  those  of  the  west  of  Europe,  they  pass  the  sleeves 
of  their  coat  over  the  two  handles  of  their  wheelbarrows,  and 
then,  turning  this  moveable  roof  towards  the  sun,  they  sleep 
tranquilly  under  the  rustic  drapery.  The  sheep- skin  coats  are 
graceful  in  shape,  and  would  be  pretty  if  they  were  not  generally 
so  old  and  greasy.  A  poor  peasant  cannot  often  renew  a  vesture 
which  costs  so  much. 

The  Russian  labourer  is  industrious,  and  is  ready  for  every 
difticulty  in  which  he  may  be  placed.  He  never  goes  out  without 
his  small  hatchet,  which  is  useful  for  a  hundred  purposes  in  the 
hands  of  a  dexterous  man  in  a  country  not  yet  without  woods. 
With  ji  Russian  by  your  side,  were  you  to  lose  yourself  in  a 


268  WANT    OF    riUNCJI'I.K     J.\     TDK     NOBLKS. 

forest,  you  would  in  a  very  few  hotirs  have  a  house  to  pass  the 
night  in,  perhaps  more  commodious,  and  assuredly  more  clean, 
than  the  houses  of  the  old  villages.  But  if  the  traveller  pos- 
sessed small  articles  of  leather  among  his  baggage,  they  would 
be  safe  nowhere.  The  Russians  steal,  with  the  address  which 
they  exhibit  on  all  occasions,  the  straps,  girths  and  leathern 
aprons  of  your  trunks  and  carriages,  though  the  same  men  show 
every  sign  of  being  extremely  devout. 

I  have  never  travelled  a  stage  without  my  coachman  making 
at  least  twenty  signs  of  the  cross  to  salute  as  many  little  chapels. 
Ready  to  fulfil  with  the  same  punctilio  his  obligations  of  polite- 
ness, he  salutes  also  with  his  hat  every  waggoner  that  he  meets, 
and  their  number  is  great.  These  formalities  accomplished,  we 
arrive  at  the  end  of  the  stage,  when  it  is  invariably  found  that, 
either  in  putting  to  or  detaching  the  horses,  the  adroit,  pious, 
polite  rogue  has  abstracted  something,  perhaps  a  leather  pouch, 
a  strap,  or  a  wrapper ;  perhaps  only  a  nail,  a  screw,  or  a  wax 
candle  from  the  lamps  :  in  short,  he  never  leaves  with  altogether 
dean  hands. 

These  men  are  extremely  greedy  of  money ;  but  they  dare 
not  complain  when  ill  paid,  which  has  often  been  the  case  with 
those  who  have  driven  us  the  last  few  days,  for  iny  feldjager  re- 
tains for  himself  a  portion  of  the  postilion's  fees,  which,  together 
with  the  hire  of  the  horses  for  the  entire  journey,  I  paid  him  in 
advance  at  Petersburg.  Having  once  observed  this  trick,  I  com- 
pensated out  of  my  own  pocket  the  unfortunate  postilion,  thus 
deprived  of  a  part  of  the  wages  which,  according  to  the  ordinary 
custom  of  travellers,  he  had  a  right  to  expect  from  me  ;  but  the 
knavish  feldjager,  having  perceived  my  generosity  (for  this  was 
the  name  he  gave  to  my  justice),  had  the  audacity  to  complain  to 
me  openly, — saying  that  he  could  no  longer  act  for  me  on  the 
journey,  if  I  continued  to  thwart  him  in  the  legitimate  exercise 
of  his  power. 

But  how  can  we  be  surprised  at  the  want  of  proper  principles 
among  the  common  people,  in  a  country  where  the  great  regard 
the  most  simple  rules  of  probity  as  laws  fit  for  plebeians,  but 
which  cannot  extend  to  persons  of  their  rank  ?  Let  it  not  be 
supposed  that  I  exaggerate ;  I  state  what  I  perceive  :  an  aristo- 
cratic pride,  degenerated  in  its  character,  and  at  variance  with 
the  true  sentiment  of  honour,  reigns  in  Russia  among  the  greater 
number  of  influential  families.  Recently  a  great  lady  made  to 
me,  little  knowing  it,  an  ingenious  confession  ;  it  the  more  sur- 
prised me,  because  such  sentiments,  sufficiently  common  here 


FEMALE    POLITICIANS.  269 

among  the  men,  are  less  so  among  the  women,  who  have  gene- 
rally preserved  better  than  their  husbands  and  brothers  the  tra- 
ditions of  just  and  noble  feelings.  "  It  is  impossible  for  us," 
she  said,  "  to  form  any  clear  idea  of  a  social  state  like  that  of 
yours  in  France.  They  tell  me  that,  at  present,  the  highest 
noble  there  can  be  put  in  prison  for  a  debt  of  two  hundred 
francs ;  this  is  revolting :  how  different  from  our  country ! 
There  is  not  in  all  Russia  a  tradesman  who  would  dare  to  refuse 
us  credit  for  an  unlimited  period.  With  your  aristocratic  no- 
tions," she  added,  "  you  must  surely  find  yourself  more  at  home 
among  us.  There  is  greater  similarity  between  the  French  of 
the  old  regime  and  us,  than  between  any  other  of  the  European 
nations." 

I  cannot  describe  the  effort  of  self-command  that  it  required 
on  my  part  to  prevent  myself  from  suddenly  and  loudly  protest- 
ing against  the  affinity  of  which  this  lady  boasted.  Notwith- 
standing my  obligatory  prudence,  I  could  not  help  saying,  that 
a  man  who  would  now  pass  among  ourselves  for  an  ultra-aris- 
tocrat, might  be  easily  classed  at  Petersburg  with  the  violent 
liberals,  and  I  concluded  by  observing,  "  When  you  assure  me 
that,  among  your  families,  people  do  not  think  it  necessary  to 
pay  their  debts,  I  must  not  take  you  at  your  word." 

"  Many  of  us  have  enormous  fortunes,  but  they  would  be 
ruined  if  they  were  to  pay  all  they  owed." 

In  order  to  explain  to  me  the  extent  to  which  the  fashionable 
world  is  imbued  with  the  French  genius  and  spirit,  the  same  lady 
related  to  me  instances  of  impromptu  answers  in  verse,  made,  in 
a  game,  at  the  house  of  one  of  her  relatives.  i£  You  see  how 
completely  French  we  are,"  she  added,  with  a  pride  that  awoke 
my  inward  risibility.  "  Yes,  more  so  than  we  ourselves,"  I  re- 
plied ;  and  we  changed  the  subject  of  discourse.  I  can  picture 
to  myself  the  astonishment  with  which  this  Franco-Russian  lady 

would  enter  the  salons  *  of  Madame ,  in  Paris,  and  inquire 

of  our  actual  France  iwiiat  has  become  of  the  France  of  Louis 
XV.? 

Under  the  Empress  Catherine,  the  conversation  of  the  palace, 
and  of  some  of  the  nobility,  resembled  that  of  the  saloons  of  Paris. 
In  the  present  day,  our  discourse  is  more  serious,  or,  at  least, 
more  bold  than  that  of  any  of  the  other  European  people  ;  and, 
in  this  respect,  our  modern  Frenchmen  are  far  from  resembling 

*  The  salons  of  a  lady,  an  expression  newly  borrowed  from  the  restau- 
rateurs by  the  people  of  the  fashionable  world. 


270 


FEMALE    POLITICIANS. 


tlie  Russians,  for  we  talk  of  every  thing,  and  the  Russians  speak 
of  nothing. 

The  reign  of  Catherine  is  profoundly  impressed  on  the  mem- 
ories of  several  Russian  ladies.  These  fair  aspirantes  to  the 
title  of  female  statesmen  have  a  talent  for  politics :  and,  as  some 
of  them  add  to  that  gift  manners  which  altogether  remind  us  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  they  are  so  many  travelling  Empresses, 
with  the  reports  of  whose  profligacy  Europe  resounds,  but  who, 
under  this  unfeminine  conduct,  conceal  a  commanding  and  pro- 
foundly observing  mind.  By  virtue  of  the  spirit  of  intrigue  that 
distinguishes  these  Aspasias  of  the  North,  there  is  scarcely  a 
capital  in  Europe  without  two  or  three  Russian  ambassadors  : 
the  one,  public,  accredited,  recognised,  and  clothed  with  all  the 
insignia  of  office  ;  the  others,  secret,  irresponsible,  and  playing, 
in  bonnet  and  petticoat,  the  double  part  of  independent  ambas- 
sador, and  spy  upon  the  official  envoy. 

In  all  ages,  women  have  been  employed  with  success  in  polit- 
ical negotiations.  Many  of  our  modern  revolutionists  have 
availed  themselves  of  female  aid  to  conspire  more  skilfully,  more 
secretly,  and  more  safely.  Spain  has  seen  these  unfortunate 
women  become  heroines  in  the  courage  with  which  they  have  sub- 
mitted to  the  punishment  entailed  by  their  tender  devotion — for 
love  always  forms  a  great  part  of  the  courage  of  a  Spanish 
woman. 

Among  the  Russian  women,  love  is  only  the  accessory. 
Russia  possesses  a  completely  organised  female  diplomacy  ;  and 
Europe  is  not,  perhaps,  sufficiently  attentive  to  so  singular  a 
means  of  influence.  With  its  concealed  army  of  amphibious 
agents,  its  political  Amazons  with  acute  masculine  minds  and 
feminine  language,  the  Russian  court  collects  information,  ob- 
tains reports,  and  even  receives  advice,  which,  if  better  known, 
would  explain  many  mysteries,  furnish  a  key  to  many  inconsis- 
tencies, and  reveal  many  littlenesses,  otherwise  inexplicable. 

The  political  pre-occupation  of  mind  of  the  greater  number 
of  Russian  women  renders  their  conversation,  interesting  as  it 
might  be,  insipid.  This  is  more  especially  the  case  with  the 
most  distinguished  women,  who  are  naturally  the  most  absent 
when  the  conversation  does  not  turn  upon  important  subjects. 
There  is  a  world  between  their  thoughts  and  their  discourse, 
from  whence  there  results  a  want  of  accord,  an  absence  of  natu- 
ral manner,  in  short,  a  duplicity,  that  is  disagreeable  in  the  ordi- 
nary relations  of  social  life.  Politics  are,  from  their  nature,  but 
poor  amusement ;  their  tediousness  is  supported  by  a  sense  of 


DOMESTIC    HAl'l'IXKSS    OF    THE    SERFS.  27 1 

duty,  and  sometimes,  when  statesmen  speak,  by  flashes  of  mind 
which  animate  conversation  ;  but  the  politics  of  the  amateur  are 
the  curses  of  conversation. 

I  have  been  assured  that  the  moral  sentiment  is  scarcely 
developed  among  the  Russian  peasants,  and  my  daily  experience 
confirms  tho  accounts  that  I  have  received. 

A  nobleman  has  related  to  me,  that  a  man  belonging  to  him, 
who  was  skilful  in  some  particular  handicraft,  had  permission  to 
remain  in  Petersburg,  in  order  to  exercise  his  talent  there. 
After  the  expiration  of  two  years,  he  was  allowed  to  return  for 
a  few  weeks  to  his  native  village,  to  visit  his  wife.  He  came 
back  to  Petersburg  on  the  day  appointed. 

"  Are  you  satisfied  with  having  seen  your  family  ?"  asked  his 
master.  "  Perfectly  so,"  answered  the  workman,  with  great  sim- 
plicity :  "  my  wife  has  presented  me  with  two  more  children  in 
my  absence,  and  the  sight  of  them  gave  me  great  pleasure." 

These  poor  people  have  nothing  of  their  own  ;  neither  their 
cottages,  their  wives,  their  children,  nor  even  their  own  hearts ; 
they  have,  therefore,  no  jealousy.  Of  what  could  they  be  jeal- 
ous ? — Of  an  accident  ?  Love  among  them  is  nothing  better. 
Such,  however,  is  the  existence  of  the  happiest  men  in  Russia — 
the  serfs  !  I  have  often  heard  the  great  express  envy  of  their 
lot,  and  perhaps  not  without  reason. 

They  have  no  cares,  they  say ;  we  take  all  the  charge  of  them 
and  their  families  (Grod  knows  how  this  charge  is  acquitted  when 
the  peasants  become  old  and  useless).  Assured  of  the  necessaries 
of  life  for  themselves  and  their  children,  they  are  a  hundred 
times  less  to  be  pitied  than  the  free  peasants  are  among  you. 

I  did  not  reply  to  this  panegyric  on  servitude  ;  but  I  thought, 
if  they  have  no  cares,  they  have  also  no  families,  and  therefore 
no  affections,  no  pleasures,  no  moral  sentiment,  no  compensation 
for  the  physical  evils  of  life.  They  possess  nothing ;  though  it 
is  individual  property  which  makes  the  social  man,  because  it 
alone  constitutes  the  divisions  of  family. 

Moral  truth  is  the  only  principle  that  merits  our  devotion  ; 
to  grasp  it,  all  the  efforts  of  the  human  mind  tend,  whatever  may 
be  their  sphere  of  action.  If,  in  my  journeys,  I  take  every  pains 
to  describe  the  world  as  it  is,  my  object  is  to  excite  in  the  breasts 
of  others,  and  in  my  own,  regret  that  it  is  not  as  it  should  be, 
to  arouse  in  human  minds  the  sentiment  of  immortality,  by  re- 
calling, at  the  sight  of  every  injustice,  every  abuse  inherent  in 
the  things  of  earth,  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ,  u  My  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world." 


272  CASUISTICAL    REFLECTIONS. 

Never  have  I  had  so  frequent  occasion  to  apply  these  words 
as  since  my  sojourn  in  Russia ;  they  occur  to  me  at  every  mo- 
ment. Under  a  despotism,  all  the  laws  are  calculated  to  assist 
oppression  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  more  the  oppressed  has  reason  to 
complain,  the  less  has  he  the  legal  right  or  the  temerity.  Surely, 
before  God,  the  evil  actions  of  a  free  citizen  are  more  criminal 
than  the  evil  actions  of  a  serf.  He  who  sees  every  thing,  takes 
into  account  the  insensibility  of  conscience  in  the  man  debased 
by  the  spectacle  of  iniquity  always  triumphant. 

It  will  be  said  tbat  evil  is  evil,  wherever  committed  ;  and  that 
the  man  who  steals  at  Moscow,  is  just  as  much  a  thief  as  the 
pickpocket  in  Paris.  It  is  precisely  this  which  I  deny.  On  the 
general  education  that  a  people  receives,  depends  in  a  great  mea- 
sure the  morality  of  each  individual ;  from  whence  it  follows  that 
a  fearful  and  mysterious  relativeness  of  merits  and  of  demerits 
has  been  established  by  Providence  between  governments  and 
subjects,  and  that  moments  arrive  in  the  history  of  communities 
when  the  State  is  judged,  condemned,  and  destroyed,  as  though 
it  were  a  single  individual. 

The  virtues,  the  faults,  and  the  crimes  of  slaves  have  not  the 
same  signification  as  those  of  freemen  ;  therefore,  when  I  exam- 
ine the  character  of  the  Russian  people,  I  can  assert  as  a  fact 
which  does  not  imply  the  same  blame  as  it  would  with  us,  that 
in  general  they  are  deficient  in  spirit,  delicacy,  and  elevation  of 
sentiment,  and  that  they  supply  the  want  of  these  qualities  by 
patience  and  artifice. 

"  The  Russian  people  are  gentle,"  is  often  said  to  me.  To 
this  I  answer,  "  I  cannot  give  them  any  credit  for  being  so  :  it 
is  their  habit  of  submission."  Others  say,  "  The  Russian  peo- 
ple are  only  gentle  because  they  dare  not  show  what  is  in  their 
hearts  ;  their  fundamental  sentiments  are  superstition  and  fe- 
rocity." To  this  I  reply,  "  Poor  creatures  !  they  are  so  ill-edu- 
cated ! " 

From  all  that  I  see  in  this  world,  and  especially  in  this  coun- 
try, I  conclude  that  happiness  is  not  the  real  object  for  which 
man  was  placed  here  upon  earth.  That  object  is  purely  reli- 
gious in  its  character :  it  is  moral  improvement — the  struggle 
and  the  victory. 

Since  the  usurpation  of  the  temporal  authority,  the  Christian 
religion  in  Russia  has  lost  its  virtue  ;  it  is  stationary,  or  at  least 
moves  as  one  of  the  wheel-works  of  despotism,  and  nothing  more. 
In  this  country,  where  nothing  is  clearly  defined,  it  is  difficult  to 
understand  the  actual  relations  of  the  church  with  the  head  of 


ABOLITION    OF    THE    PATRIARCHATE.  2*73 

the  state,  who  has  made  himself  the  arbiter  of  the  faith,  though 
without  actually  proclaiming  such  prerogative.  He  exercises  it 
de  facto,  but  he  dares  not  claim  it  as  a  right ;  he  has  therefore 
preserved  a  synod,  which  is  the  last  homage  rendered  by  tyranny 
to  the  King  of  kings,  and  to  His  ruined  church.  The  following 
is  the  account  of  this  religious  revolution  in  Evesque,  whose 
History  of  Russia  I  have  just  been  reading,  while  waiting  for  a 
blacksmith  to  repair  another  misfortune  that  has  happened  to  my 
caliche. 

"  1721.  Since  the  death  of  Adrian,*  Peter  had  constantly 
deferred  lending  himself  to  the  election  of  a  new  patriarch.  Un- 
der a  twenty  years'  delay,  the  religious  veneration  of  the  people 
for  this  head  of  the  church  had  insensibly  cooled.  The  Emperor 
at  length  believed  that  he  might  venture  to  declare  the  dignity 
abolished  for  ever.  He  divided  the  ecclesiastical  power,  formerly 
invested  exclusively  in  the  person  of  a  chief  pontiff1,  and  caused 
all  matters  concerning  religion  to  be  brought  under  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  a  new  tribunal,  called  the  Holy  Synod. 

"  He  did  not  declare  himself  head  of  the  church,  but  he  VIR- 
TUALLY became  so  by  means  of  the  oath  which  the  members  of 
the  new  ecclesiastical  college  took.  It  was  to  this  effect :  '  I 
swear  to  be  a  faithful  and  obedient  servant  and  subject  of  my 
natural  and  true  sovereign.  .  .  .  /  acknowledge  him  to  he  the 
supreme  judge  of  this  spiritual  college?  The  synod  is  composed 
of  a  president,  two  vice-presidents,  and  four  assistants.  These 
removable  ecclesiastical  judges  are  far  from  possessing,  united, 
the  power  formerly  enjoyed  by  the  patriarch  alone.  They  do 
not  attend  the  councils,  their  names  do  not  appear  in  the  acts  of 
the  monarchy,  they  have  not,  even  in  the  matters  submitted  to 
them,  more  than  an  authority  subordinate  to  that  of  the  sover- 
eign. As  no  exterior  signs  distinguish  them  from  the  other  pre- 
lates, and  as  their  authority  ceases  as  soon  as  they  leave  their 
tribunal,  finally,  as  that  tribunal  itself  presents  nothing  very  im- 
posing, they  do  not  inspire  the  people  with  any  particular  vener- 
ation." 

The  Russian  people  are  in  our  days  the  most  believ.i  among 
all  the  Christian  nations :  the  chief  cause  of  the  little  cmcucy  of 
their  faith  is  easily  seen.  When  the  church  abdicates  its  liberty, 
it  loses  its  moral  virtuality  : — a  slave,  it  can  only  give  birth  to 
slavery.  It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated  that  the  only  church 
really  independent,  is  the  Catholic  church,  which  has  alone  pre- 

*  The  last  patriarch  of  Moscow. — Note  of  the  Traveller. 
12* 


274  DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    SECTS    AND    CHURCH. 

served  the  trust  of  true  charity.  All  the  other  churches  form 
constituent  parts  of  the  state,  which  uses  them  as  political  instru- 
ments for  maintaining  its  power.  These  churches  are  excellent 
auxiliaries  of  the  government;  complaisant  towards  the  princes 
or  magistrates  who  are  the  depositaries  of  the  temporal  power, 
hard  upon  the  subjects,  they  call  in  Deity  to  aid  the  police.  The 
immediate  result  is  sure ;  it  is  in  good  order  in  society  :  but  the 
Catholic  church,  quite  as  powerful  politically,  looks  higher  and 
reaches  farther.  The  national  churches  make  citizens;  the 
church  universal  makes  men.  Among  the  sectarians,  a  respect 
for  the  church  is  confounded  with  a  love  of  country ;  among  the 
Catholics,  the  church  and  regenerated  humanity  are  one  and  the 
same  thing.  In  Russia,  respect  for  authority  continues  still  the 
only  spring  of  the  social  machine.  This  respect  is  necessary,  no 
doubt ;  but,  in  order  radically  to  civilise  the  human  heart,  it  is 
necessary  to  teach  it  something  more  than  blind  obedience. 

The  day  when  the  son  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas — I  say  the 
son,  for  this  noble  task  does  not  belong  to  the  father,  obliged  as 
he  is  to  spend  his  laborious  reign  in  drawing  closer  the  bonds  of 
the  old  military  discipline  which  constitutes  the  Muscovite 
government, — the  day  when  the  son  of  the  Emperor  shall  have 
taught  all  the  classes  of  this  nation  that  he  who  commands  owes 
respect  to  him  who  obeys,  a  moral  revolution  will  be  effected 
in  llussia ;  and  the  instrument  of  that  revolution  will  be  the 
Gospel. 

The  longer  I  stay  in  this  country  the  more  am  I  impressed 
with  the  fact  that  contempt  for  the  weak  is  contagious.  This 
sentiment  is  so  natural  here,  that  those  who  most  severely  blame 
it  come  finally  to  partake  of  it.  I  am  myself  a  proof  in  ques- 
tion. 

In  llussia,  the  desire  of  travelling  fast  becomes  a  passion,  and 
this  passion  serves  as  a  pretext  for  every  species  of  inhumanity. 
My  courier  has  communicated  it  to  me,  and  I  often  render  my- 
self, without  at  the  time  perceiving  it,  an  accomplice  in  his  acts 
of  injustice.  He  is  exceedingly  angry  whenever  the  coachman 
leaves  his  seat  to  re-adjust  any  portion  of  the  harness,  or  when 
he  stops  on  the  road  under  any  other  pretext. 

Yesterday  evening,  at  the  commencement  of  a  stage,  a  child 
who  drove  us  had  been  several  times  threatened  with  blows  by 
the  feldjager  for  a  fault  of  the  kind,  and  I  participated  in  the 
impatience  and  wrath  of  this  man.  Suddenly,  a  foal,  not  many 
days  old,  and  well  known  by  the  boy,  escaped  from  an  inclosure 
bordering  upon  the  road,  and  began  neighing  and  galloping  after 


ADVENTURES    OF    A    FOAL,  275 

my  carriage,  for  he  took  one  of  the  mares  that  drew  us  for  his 
mother.  The  young  coachman,  already  guilty  of  delay,  wanted 
once  again  to  stop  and  go  to  the  aid  of  the  colt,  which  he  saw 
every  moment  in  danger  of  being  crushed  under  the  wheels  of 
the  carriage.  My  courier  angrily  forbade  him  to  leave  his  seat ; 
the  child  obeyed  like  a  good  Russian,  and  continued  to  drive  us  at 
a  gallop  without  proffering  a  complaint.  I  supported  the  sever- 
ity of  the  feldjager.  I  thought  to  myself,  "  It  is  necessary  to 
sustain  authority  even  when  it  is  in  fault;  this  is  the  spirit 
of  the  Russian  government :  my  feldjager  is  not  over  zealous ; 
if  I  discourage  him  when  he  exhibits  energy  in  performing  his 
duty,  he  will  leave  every  thing  to  come  and  go  as  it  pleases,  and 
be  of  no  use  to  me  at  all :  besides,  it  is  the  custom  of  the  coun- 
try ;  why  should  I  be  less  in  haste  than  another  ?  my  dignity  as 
a  traveller  is  involved ;  to  have  time  to  spare  would  be  to  lose 
my  consequence  in  this  country :  here,  to  be  important,  we  must 
be  impatient."  While  I  was  thus  reasoning,  night  had  come  on. 
I  accuse  myself  with  having  been  more  hard-hearted  even  than 
the  Russians,  (for  I  have  not,  like  them,  the  habits  of  early  life 
as  an  excuse,)  thus  to  leave  the  poor  colt  and  the  unhappy  child 
to  mourn  in  concert ;  the  one  by  neighing  with  all  his  might,  the 
other  by  crying  silently — a  difference  which  gave  to  the  brute  a 
real  advantage  over  the  human  being.  I  ought  to  have  inter- 
posed my  authority  to  cause  this  double  punishment  to  cease ; 
but  no,  I  assisted,  I  contributed  to  the  martyrdom.  It  was  a  long 
one,  for  the  stage  was  six  leagues  in  length.  The  boy,  obliged 
to  torture  the  animal  that  he  wished  to  save,  suffered  with  a  re- 
signation that  would  have  touched  me,  had  not  my  heart  been 
already  hardened  by  my  abode  in  this  country.  Every  time  that 
a  peasant  appeared  on  the  road,  the  hope  of  rescuing  his  beloved 
foal  again  revived  in  the  bosom  of  the  child  :  he  made  signs  from 
afar  off;  he  shouted  when  a  hundred  paces  distant  from  the  foot- 
passenger,  but  not  daring  to  slacken  the  unmerciful  gallop  of  our 
horses,  he  never  succeeded  in  making  himself  understood  in  time. 
If  ever  a  peasant,  more  quick-sighted  than  the  others,  endeavour- 
ed of  himself  to  turn  the  foal,  the  speed  of  the  carriage  discon- 
certed him,  and  the  young  animal  passed  on  close  to  the  flank  of 
one  of  our  horses.  The  case  was  the  same  in  the  villages,  and 
at  last  the  despair  of  our  youthful  coachman  became  so  great, 
that  he  no  longer  opened  his  mouth.  The  persevering  little  ani- 
mal, only  eight  days  old,  according  to  our  driver,  had  the  spirit 
and  muscle  necessary  to  perform  six  leagues  at  a  gallop  !* 

*  2-*-.,  miles  English  is  a  French  licue  de  postc. — Trans. 


276  ADVENTURES    OF    A    FOAL. 

When  this  was  accomplished,  our  slave — it  is  of  the  boy  that 
I  speak — seeing  himself  at  length  released  from  the  rigorous  yoke 
of  discipline,  called  the  whole  village  to  the  rescue  of  the  foal. 
The  energy  of  this  spirited  little  creature  was  so  great  that,  not- 
withstanding the  fatigue  of  such  a  course,  notwithstanding  the 
stiffness  of  his  limbs,  ruined  before  they  were  formed,  he  was  still 
very  difficult  to  catch.  They  could  only  take  him  by  driving 
him  into  a  stable  after  the  mare  he  had  mistaken  for  his  dam. 
When  they  had  placed  a  halter  round  him,  they  shut  him  up  with 
another  mare,  that  gave  him  her  milk ;  but  he  had  not  strength 
left  to  suck.  Some  said  he  would  come  round  by  and  by,  others 
that  he  was  foundered  and  could  not  live.  I  begin  to  understand 
a  little  Russian,  and  heard  this  sentence  pronounced  by  one  of 
the  elders  of  the  village.  Our  little  coachman  completely  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  young  animal.  Foreseeing,  no  doubt,  the 
treatment  that  the  keeper  of  the  foals  would  have  to  suffer,  he 
appeared  in  as  great  a  consternation  as  if  he  was  himself  to  re- 
ceive the  blows  with  which  his  comrade  would  be  overwhelmed. 
Never  have  I  seen  the  expression  of  despair  more  profoundly  im- 
printed on  the  face  of  a  child ;  but  not  one  look,  not  one  gesture 
of  reproach  against  my  cruel  courier,  escaped  him.  So  great  an 
empire  over  self,  so  much  restraint  of  feeling  at  such  an  age,  in- 
spired me  with  fear  and  pity. 

Meanwhile  the  courier,  without  troubling  himself  for  a  mo- 
ment about  the  foal,  or  taking  the  least  notice  of  the  disconsolate 
child,  proceeded  gravely  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for 
procuring  a  fresh  relay. 

On  this  road,  which  is  the  finest  and  the  most  frequented  in 
Russia,  the  villages  where  relays  may  be  obtained  are  peopled 
with  peasants  purposely  established  there  to  attend  to  the  post- 
ing. Upon  the  arrival  of  a  carriage,  the  Imperial  director  sends 
from  house  to  house  to  seek  for  horses  and  a  disengaged  coach- 
man. Sometimes  the  distances  are  great  enough  to  cause  a  con- 
siderable delay  to  the  traveller.  I  should  prefer  more  promptness 
in  the  changing  of  horses,  and  a  little  less  speed  in  the  driving. 
At  the  moment  of  leaving  the  broken-down  foal  and  the  forlorn 
young  postilion,  I  felt  no  remorse;  it  came  only  upon  reflection, 
and  especially  upon  recording  the  circumstances  in  writing: 
siiMino  then  awoke  repentance.  Thus  easily  may  those  who 
breathe  the  air  of  despotism  be  corrupted.  What  do  I  say  ?  In 
Russia,  despotism  is  only  upon  the  throne,  but  tyranny -pervades 
the  country. 

Education  and  circumstances  considered,  it  must  be  acknow- 


MORAL    RESPONSIBILITY.  27*7 

lodged  that  a  Russian  lord,  the  most  accustomed  to  submit  to, 
and  to  exercise  arbitrary  power,  could  not  have  committed,  in 
the  seclusion  of  his  province,  an  act  of  cruelty  more  blamable 
than  that  of  which  I,  yesterday  evening,  rendered  myself  guilty 
by  my  silence. 

I,  a  Frenchman,  who  believe  myself  to  possess  a  naturally 
kind  disposition,  who  have  been  educated  under  a  civilisation 
of  ancient  date,  who  travel  among  a  people  of  whose  manners  I 
am  a  severe  observer, — lo !  even  I,  upon  the  first  opportunity 
for  practising  a  petty  act  of  unnecessary  cruelty,  yield  to  the 
temptation.  The  Parisian  acts  like  a  Tartar  !  The  evil  is  in 
the  atmosphere. 

In  France,  where  they  respect  life,  even  that  of  the  brute 
creation,  if  my  postilion  had  not  thought  of  rescuing  the  colt,  I 
should  have  obliged  him  to  stop.  I  should  myself  have  appealed 
to  the  peasants  for  aid,  and  should  not  have  proceeded  on  my 
journey  until  I  had  seen  the  animal  in  safety.  Here,  I  have 
aided  in  destroying  him  by  an  unmerciful  silence.  Who  would 
be  proud  of  his  virtues,  when  forced  to  acknowledge  that  they 
depend  upon  circumstances  more  than  upon  self? 

A  great  Russian  lord,  who,  in  his  fits  of  passion,  does  not  beat 
to  death  any  of  his  peasants,  merits  praise  :  he  is  in  such  case 
humane;  whilst  I,  a  Frenchman,  may  be  cruel  for  having  simply 
suffered  a  foal  to  gallop  on  the  road. 

I  have  passed  the  night  in  meditating  upon  the  great  problem 
of  relative  virtues  and  vices,  and  I  have  concluded  that  a  very 
important  branch  of  political  morals  has  not  yet  been  sufficiently 
elucidated ;  an  inquiry,  namely,  as  to  the  share  of  merit,  or  of 
responsibility  which  each  individual  has  the  right  to  claim  or  to 
disclaim,  in  his  own  actions,  and  the  share  which  belongs  to  the 
society  where  he  is  born.  If  society  be  exalted  by  the  great 
things  performed  by  some  of  its  members,  it  ought  also  to  regard 
itself  as  implicated  in  the  crimes  of  others.  In  this  respect  an- 
cient society  was  more  advanced  than  modern.  The  scapegoat 
of  the  Jews  shows  us  to  what  point  that  people  feared  the  re- 
sponsibility of  crime.  With  them,  the  penalty  of  death  was  not 
only  punishment  of  the  guilty,  it  was  a  public  expiation,  a  pro- 
testation of  the  community  against  all  participation  in  the  crime, 
and  in  the  motive  that  inspired  it.  This  view  serves  to  show  us 
how  social  man  has  been  able  to  arrogate  the  right  of  legally 
disposing  of  the  life  of  his  fellow-creature  :  eye  for  eye,  tooth 
for  tooth,  life  for  life;  in  short,  the  law  of  retaliation  was  politic. 
A  society  that  wishes  to  subsist  must  cast  from  its  bosom  the  cri- 


278  A    WAKING    DREAM. 

ininal.  When  Jesus  Christ  came  to  substitute  his  law  of  love  in 
the  place  of  the  stern  justice  of  Moses,  he  well  knew  that  it  would 
abridge  the  duration  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  but  he  opened 
to  men  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ....  Without  eternity  and  im- 
mortality, Christianity  would  cost  to  earth  more  than  it  restores. 
This  was  my  waking  dream  throughout  the  night. 

A  train  of  vague  ideas,  phantoms  of  the  mind,  half  active, 
half  torpid,  wandered  slowly  through  my  brain  :  the  gallop  of 
the  horses  that  bore  me  along  seemed  more  rapid  than  the  flights 
of  my  burdened  thoughts ;  the  body  appeared  to  have  wings,  the 
mind  had  become  lead.  I  left  it,  as  it  were,  behind  me,  as  I 
passed  over  the  ground  more  quickly  than  imagination  could 
traverse  space.  The  steppes,  the  marshes  with  their  spiry  pines 
and  stunted  birches,  the  villages,  the  towns,  flew  across  my  eyes 
like  fantastic  figures,  before  I  was  able  to  account  to  myself  how 
I  had  been  brought  before  this  moving  scene,  where  the  soul 
could  not  keep  pace  with  the  body,  so  singularly  was  sensation 
quickened  !  ....  This  overturning  of  nature,  these  mental  decep- 
tions of  which  the  cause  was  physical,  this  optical  illusion  applied 
to  the  mechanism  of  ideas,  this  displacing  of  life,  these  voluntary 
dreams,  were  prolonged  by  the  monotonous  songs  of  the  men  who 
drove  my  horses, — lugubrious  notes,  like  some  of  the  chants  of 
our  churches,  or  rather  like  the  nasal  accents  of  the  old  Jews  in 
the  German  synagogues.  They  say  the  Russian  peasants  are 
very  musical ;  we  shall  see  by-and-by.  I  have  heard  nothing  yet 
that  merits  the  trouble  of  being  listened  to.  The  chanted  com- 
munings  of  the  coachman  with  his  horses,  during  the  night,  are 
very  doleful:  this  murmur  without  rhythm,  this  declamatory  re- 
verie, in  which  man  confides  his  sorrows  to  the  brute,  the  only 
kind  friend  by  whom  he  is  not  despised,  filled  me  with  a  melan- 
choly more  deep  than  pleasing. 

At  one  place,  the  road  shelved  suddenly  upon  a  bridge  of  boats, 
which  lay  much  below  its  level  by  reason  of  the  droughts  that  had 
dried  up  the  river  thus  crossed.  This  river,  still  broad,  although 
shrunk  in  its  bed  by  the  summer  heats,  bears  a  celebrated  name 
— it  is  the  Volga.  Upon  the  border  of  the  famous  stream  ap- 
peared, gilded  by  the  moon,  a  city,  whose  long  white  walls  gleamed 
in  the  night,  which  is  only  a  twilight  favourable  to  the  conjuring 
up  of  images.  The  road  formed  a  bend  round  this  newly  white- 
washed city,  where  I  still  found  the  everlasting  Roman  pediments 
and  colonnades  of  plaster,  of  which  the  Russians  are  so  fond, 
because  they  think  them  proofs  of  their  knowledge  of  the  arts. 
The  city,  of  which  I  went  the  round,  appeared  immense.  It  was 


DEPARTURE    FOR    MOSCOW.  279 

Tver,  a  name  that  brought  to  my  recollection  the  interminable 
civil  contests  which  make  up  the  history  of  Russia  until  the  inva- 
sion of  the  Tartars.  I  could  hear  brethren  insulting  their 
brethren ;  the  cry  of  war  resounded  ;  I  saw  the  massacre ;  the 
Volga  flowed  with  blood  ;  from  the  deep  solitudes  of  Asia,  the 
Calmuc  hurried  on  to  drink  it,  and  to  shed  more.  But  what  have 
I  to  do  with  this  bloodthirsty  crowd  ?  It  is  to  have  a  new  jour- 
ney to  recount  to  my  friends  ;  as  though  the  picture  of  a  coun- 
try where  nature  has  done  nothing,  and  where  art  has  only 
produced  some  rough  sketches  or  copies,  could  interest,  after  the 
description  of  Spain — of  that  laud  where  a  people  the  most  ori- 
ginal, the  most  lively,  the  most  independent  in  character,  even  the 
most  free,  in  practice,  if  not  in  theory,*  struggle  secretly  against 
the  most  gloomy  of  governments ;  where  they  dance  and  pray 
together,  in  the  intervals  of  throat-cutting  and  church-pillaging. 
Such  is  the  picture  that  my  friends  must  forget,  in  order  that  I 
may  describe  to  them  a  plain  some  thousand  leagues  wide,  and  a 
society  which  has  nothing  original  that  it  does  not  endeavour  to 
conceal.  .  .  .  The  task  is  a  hard  one. 

Even  Moscow  will  not  recompense  me  for  'the  trouble  I  am 
taking  to  see  it.  Shall  I  give  up  the  idea  of  Moscow,  order  the 
coachman  to  turn,  and  depart  in  all  haste  for  Paris  ?  To  this  had 
my  reveries  brought  me  when  the  day  dawned.  My  caleche  had 
remained  open,  and  in  my  protracted  doze  I  had  not  recollected 
the  baneful  influence  of  the  dews  of  the  North  ;  rny  clothes  were 
saturated  ;  my  hair  in  a  state  as  if  dripping  with  perspiration  ;  all 
the  leather  about  my  carriage  was  steeped  in  noxious  moisture ; 
my  eyes  pained  me,  a  veil  seemed  to  obscure  my  sight;  I  re- 
membered the  Prince ,  who  became  blind  in  twenty-four 

hours  after  a  bivouac  in  Poland,  under  the  same  latitude,  iu  a 
moist  prairie. f 

My  servant  has  just  entered  to  announce  that  my  carriage  is 
mended  ;  I  am  therefore  again  about  to  take  the  road  :  and  unless 
some  new  accident  detain  me,  and  destine  me  to  make  my  entrance 
into  Moscow  in  a  cart,  or  on  foot,  my  next  chapter  will  be  written 
in  the  holy  city  of  the  Russians,  where  they  give  me  hopes  of 
arriving  in  a  few  hours. 

*  "Within  twenty  leagues  of  Madrid,  the  Castilian  shepherd,  during  the 
1  imes  of  absolute  monarchy,  had  no  idea  but  that  there  was  a  free  govern- 
ment, in  Spain. 

f  A  similar  late,  very  nearly  happened  tome;  the  disorder  in  my  eyes, 
which  had  commenced  when  1  wrote  this  sheet,  increased  duiing  my  so- 
journ iu  Moscow,  and  long  after;  in  short,  on  my  return  from  the  fair  of 
Nijni,  it  degenerated  i:-.t<>  an  ophthalmia,  th<>  effect*  of  which  I  still  feel. 


280  FIRST    VIEW    OF    MOSCOW. 

I  must,  however,  first  set  about  concealing  my  papers,  for 
each  chapter,  even  those  that  will  appear  the  most  inoffensive  to 
the  friends  who  receive  them  in  the  form  of  letters,  would  be  suf- 
ficient to  send  me  to  Siberia.  I  take  care  to  shut  myself  up 
when  writing  ;  and  if  my  feldjager  or  one  of  the  coachmen  knock 
at  the  door,  I  put  up  my  papers  before  opening  it,  and  appear  to 
be  reading.  I  am  going  to  slip  this  sheet  between  the  crown  and 
the  lining  of  my  hat.  These  precautions  are,  I  hope,  superfluous, 
but  I  think  it  necessary  to  take  them  ;  they  at  any  rate  suffice 
to  give  an  idea  of  the  Russian  government. 


CHAPTER  XXL 

First  View  of  Moscow.— Symbolic  Architecture  of  Greek  Churches.— Castle  of  Petrovski.— 
Entrance  of  Moscow.— Aspect  of  the  Kremlin.— Church  of  Saint  Basil.— The  French  at 
Moscow.— The  Kremlin  a  City.— Origin  of  the  word  Czar.— An  English  Hotel  in  Russia.— 
The  City  by  Moonlight.— Population  of  Moscow.— The  Object  of  the  Conscience.— Gardens 
under  the  Walls  of  the  Kremlin.— Description  of  the  Fortress.— Ivan  III.— Napoleon  and 
the  Kremlin. — Modern  Grandiloquence. 

DOES  the  reader  never  remember  having  perceived,  when  ap- 
proaching by  land  some  sea-port  town  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay  or  the 
British  Channel,  the  masts  of  a  fleet  rising  behind  downs,  just 
elevated  enough  to  conceal  the  town,  the  piers,  the  flat  shore,  and 
the  sea  itself  beyond  ?  Above  the  natural  rampart  nothing  can 
be  discovered  but  a  forest  of  poles  bearing  sails  of  a  dazzling 
white,  yards,  many-coloured  flags,  and  floating  streamers.  A 
fleet,  apparently  on  land,  is  the  apparition  with  which  my  eye  has 
been  sometimes  surprised  in  Holland,  and  once  in  England,  after 
having  penetrated  into  the  interior  of  the  country,  between 
Gravesend  and  the  mouth  of  the  Thames.  Exactly  similar  is  the 
effect  that  has  been  produced  upon  me  by  the  first  view  of  Mos- 
cow :  a  multitude  of  spires  gleamed  alone  above  the  dust  of  the 
road,  the  undulations  of  the  soil,  and  the  misty  line  that  nearly 
always  clothes  the  distance,  under  the  summer  sun  of  these 
parts. 

The  uneven,  thinly-inhabited,  and  only  half-cultivated  plain 
resembles  downs  dotted  with  a  few  stunted  firs.  It  was  out  of 
the  midst  of  this  solitude  that  I  saw,  as  it  were,  suddenly  spring 
up  thousands  of  pointed  steeples,  star-spangled  belfries,  airy  tur- 
rets, strangely-shaped  towers,  palaces,  and  old  convents,  the 
bodies  of  which  all  remained  entirely  concealed. 


ARCHITECTURE    OF    GREEK    CHURCHES.  281 

This  first  view  of  the  capital  of  the  Sclavonians,  rising  brightly 
in  the  cold  solitudes  of  the  Christian  East,  produces  an  impression 
that  cannot  easily  be  forgotten. 

Before  the  eye  spreads  a  landscape,  wild  and  gloomy,  but 
grand  as  the  ocean ;  and  to  animate  the  dreary  void,  there  rises 
a  poetical  city,  whose  architecture  is  without  either  a  designating 
name  or  a  known  model. 

To  understand  the  peculiarity  of  the  picture,  it  is  necessary 
to  remind  the  reader  of  the  orthodox  plan  of  every  Greek  church. 
The  summit  of  these  sacred  edifices  is  always  composed  of  seve- 
ral towers,  which  vary  in  form  and  height,  but  the  number  of 
which  is  five  at  the  least — a  sacramental  number,  that  is  often 
greatly  exceeded.  The  middle  steeple  is  the  most  lofty ;  the 
four  others  respectfully  surround  this  principal  tower.  Their 
form  varies ;  the  summits  of  some  resemble  pointed  caps  placed 
upon  a  head  ;  the  great  towers  of  certain  churches,  painted  and 
gilded  externally,  may  be  severally  compared  to  a  bishop's  mitre, 
a  tiara  adorned  with  gems,  a  Chinese  pavilion,  a  minaret,  and  a 
clergyman's  hat.  They  often  consist  of  a  simple  cupola,  in  the 
shape  of  a  bowl,  and  terminating  in  a  point  All  these  more  or 
less  whimsical  figures  are  crowned  with  large,  open-worked  cop- 
per crosses,  gilt,  and  the  complicated  designs  of  which  look  like 
work  of  filigree.  The  number  and  disposition  of  the  steeples 
have  always  a  symbolical  religious  meaning  :  they  signify  the 
ranks  in  the  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  They  image  the  patriarch, 
surrounded  by  his  priests,  his  deacons,  and  subdeacons,  lifting 
between  heaven  and  earth  his  radiant  head.  A  fanciful  variety 
characterises  this  more  or  less  richly  adorned  roof-work ;  but  the 
primitive  intention,  the  theological  idea,  is  always  scrupulously 
respected. 

Bright  chains  of  gilded  or  plated  metal  unite  the  crosses  of 
the  inferior  steeples  to  the  principal  tower  ;  and  this  metallic  net, 
spread  over  an  entire  city,  produces  an  effect  that  it  would  be  im- 
possible to  convey,  even  in  a  picture.  The  holy  legion  of  steeples, 
without  having  any  precise  resemblance  to  the  human  form,  re- 
present a  grotesque  assemblage  of  personages  gathered  together 
on  the  summits  of  the  churches  and  chapels, — a  phalanx  of  phan- 
toms hovering  over  the  city 

The  exteriors  of  the  mystic  domes  of  the  Kussian  churches 
are  worked  in  a  most  elaborate  manner.  They  remind  the 
stranger  of  a  cuirass  of  Damascus  steel ;  and  the  sight  of  so  many 
scaly,  enamelled,  spangled,  striped,  and  chequered  roofs,  shining 
in  the  sun  with  various  but  always  brilliant  colours,  strikes  him 


282  ENTKAM.'K    TO    MOSCOW. 

with  the  most  lively  astonishment.  The  desert,  with  its  dull  sea- 
green  tint,  is,  as  it  were,  illuminated  by  this  magical  network  of 
carbuncles.  The  play  of  light,  in  the  aerial  city,  produces  a 
species  of  phantasmagoria,  in  broad  day,  which  reminds  one  of 
the  reflected  brilliance  of  lamps  in  the  shop  of  a  lapidary.  These 
changing  hues  impart  to  Moscow  an  aspect  altogether  different 
from  that  of  the  other  great  European  cities.  The  sky,  when 
viewed  from  the  middle  of  such  a  city,  is  a  golden  glory,  similar 
to  those  seen  in  old  paintings.  Schnitzler  states  that,  in  1730, 
Weber  counted  at  Moscow  1500  churches.  Coxe,  in  1778,  fixes 
the  number  at  484.  As  for  myself,  I  am  content  with  endeav- 
ouring to  describe  the  aspect  of  things.  I  admire  without  count- 
ing,— I  must,  therefore,  refer  the  lovers  of  catalogues  to  books 
made  up  entirely  of  numerals. 

I  have,  however,  said  enough,  I  hope,  to  impart  to  the  reader 
a  portion  of  the  surprise  which  the  first  view  of  Moscow  produced 
in  me.  To  add  to  that  surprise,  he  must  recollect,  what  he  will 
have  often  read,  that  this  city  is  a  country  within  itself,  and  that 
fields,  lakes,  and  woods,  enclosed  within  its  limits,  place  a  con- 
siderable distance  between  the  different  edifices  that  adorn  it. 
The  objects  being  so  scattered,,  tends  greatly  to  increase  the 
effect.  The  whole  plain  is  covered  with  a  silver  gauze.  Three 
or  four  hundred  churches,  thus  spread,  present  to  the  eye  an  im- 
mense semicircle,  so  that  when  approaching  the  city,  towards  sun- 
set on  a  stormy  evening,  it,  would  be  easy  to  fancy  you  saw  a 
rainbow  of  fire  impending  above  the  churches  of  Moscow  :  this  is 
the  halo  of  the  holy  city.  But  at  about  three  quarters  of  a 
league  from  the  gate,  the  illusion  vanishes.  Here  the  very  real 
and  heavy  brick  palace  of  Petrovski  arrests  the  attention.  It 
was  built  by  Catherine  after  an  odd  modern  design  :  the  orna- 
ments with  which  it  is  profusely  covered  stand  in  white  against 
the  red -walls.  These  decorations,  which  are  formed,  I  think,  of 
plaster,  are  in  a  style  of  extravagant  Gothic.  The  building  is  as 
square  as  a  die,  which  by  no  means  renders  its  general  effect  more 
imposing.  It  is  here  that  the  sovereign  stops,  when  he  means  to 
make  a  solemn  entrance  into  Moscow.  A  summer  theatre,  a  ball- 
room arid  a  garden  have  been  established,  so  as  to  form  a  kind 
of  public  cafe,  which  I  shall  return  to  see,  as  it  is  the  rendezvous 
of  the  city  loungers  during  the  summer  season. 

After  passing  Petrovski,  the  enchantment  gradually  disperses, 
so  that  by  the  time  of  entering  Moscow,  we  feel  as  if  waking  from 
a  briliant  dream  to  a  very  dull  and  prosaic  reality — a  vast  city 
without  any  real  monuments  of  art,  that  is  to  say,  without  a  single 


ASPECT    OF    THE    KKKMLIN.  283 

object  worthy  of  a  discriminative  and  thoughtful  approbation. 
Before  so  heavy  and  awkward  a  copy  of  Europe,  we  ask,  with 
wonder,  what  has  become  of  the  Asia,  whose  apparition  had  struck 
us  with  admiration  so  short  a  time  before  ?  Moscow,  viewed  from 
without  as  a  whole,  is  a  creation  of  sylphs,  a  world  of  chimeras ; 
when  inspected  close  at  hand  and  in  detail,  it  is  a  vast  trading 
city,  without  regularity,  dusty,  ill  paved,  ill  built,  thinly  peopled ; 
in  short,  though  it  unquestionably  exhibits  the  work  of  a  powerful 
hand,  it  betrays  also  the  conceptions  of  a  head  whose  idea  of  the 
beautiful  has  failed  to  produce  one  single  chef-d'ceuvre.  The  Rus- 
sian people  are  strong  in  arms,  that  is  in  numbers,  but  in  the 
strength  of  imagination  they  are  altogether  deficient. 

Without  genius  for  architecture,  without  taste  for  sculpture, 
they  can  heap  together  stones,  and  create  objects  enormous  in 
dimension ;  but  they  can  produce  nothing  harmonious,  nothing 
great  in  the  perfection  of  its  proportions.  Happy  privilege  of 
art !  masterpieces  survive  themselves,  subsisting  in  the  memory  of 
men  ages  after  they  have  been  devastated  by  time  ;  they  share,  by 
the  inspiration  which  they  kindle  even  in  their  latest  ruin,  the 
immortality  of  the  minds  that  created  them;  whereas  shapeless 
masses  are  forgotten  while  yet  untouched  by  time.  Art,  when  in 
its  perfection,  gives  a  soul  to  stone ;  it  is  a  mystic  power.  This 
we  learu  in  Greece,  where  each  fragment  of  sculpture  conduces 
to  the  general  effect  of  each  monument.  In  architecture,  as  in  the 
other  arts,  it  is  from  the  superior  execution  of  the  smallest  details, 
and  from  their  skilfully  interwoven  connection  with  the  general 
plan,  that  the  sentiment  of  the  beautiful  springs.  Nothing  in 
Russia  inspires  this  sentiment. 

Nevertheless,  amid  the  chaos  of  plaster,  brick,  and  boards  that 
is  called  Moscow,  two  points  never  cease  to  attract  the  eye — the 
church  of  St.  Basil,  and  the  Kremlin, — the  Kremlin,  of  which  Napo- 
leon himself  was-only  able  to  disturb  a  few  stones  !  This  prodigious 
fabric,  with  its  white  irregular  walls,  and  its  battlements  rising 
above  battlements,  is  in  itself  large  as  a  city.  At  the  close  of  day 
when  I  first  entered  Moscow,  the  grotesque  piles  of  churches  and 
palaces  embraced  within  the  citadel  rose  in  light  against  a  dimly 
portrayed  back-ground,  poor  in  design  and  cold  in  colouring, 
though  we  are  still  burning  with  heat,  suffocating  with  dust,  and 
devoured  by  mosquitoes.  It  is  the  long  continuance  of  the  hot 
season  which  gives  the  colour  to  southern  scenery ;  in  the  north, 
we  feel  the  effects  of  the  summer,  but  we  do  not  see  them  ;  in  vain 
does  the  air  become  heated  for  a  moment,  the  earth  remains 
always  discoloured. 


284  BURNING    OF    MOSCOW. 

I  shall  never  forget  the  chilly  shudder  that  came  over  me  on 
first  seeing  the  cradle  of  the  modern  Russian  empire  :  the  Kremlin 
alone  is  worth  the  journey  to  Moscow. 

At  the  gate  of  this  fortress,  but  beyond  its  precincts — at  least 
according  to  my  feldjager,  for  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  visit  it — 
stands  the  church  of  St.  Basil,  Vassili  Blagennorii ;  it  is  also  known 
under  the  -name  of  the  Cathedral  of  the  Protection  of  the  Holy 
Virgin.  In  the  Greek  church,  they  are  lavish  of  the  title  of 
cathedral ;  every  ward,  every  monastery  has  one  of  its  own ;  every 
city  possesses  several.  That  of  Vassili  is  certainly  the  most 
singular,  if  it  is  not  the  most  beautiful  edifice  in  Russia.  I  have 
as  yet  only  seen  it  at  a  distance.  Thus  viewed,  it  appears  as  an 
immense  cluster  of  little  turrets  forming  a  bush,  or  rather  giving 
the  idea  of  some  kind  of  tropical  fruit  all  bristled  over  with 
excrescences  :  a  crystallisation  of  a  thousand  rays,  the  scales  of  a 
golden  fish,  the  enamelled  skin  of  a  serpent,  the  changeful  hues  of 
the  lizard,  the  glossy  rose  and  azure  of  the  pigeon's  neck,  would 
all,  as  regards  colour,  serve  as  comparisons :  above,  rise  minarets 
of  a  brownish  red.  The  effect  of  the  whole  dazzles  the  eye,  and 
fascinates  the  imagination.  Surely,  the  land  in  which  such  a 
building  is  called  a  house  of  prayer  is  not  Europe ;  it  must  be 
India,  Persia,  or  China  ! — and  the  men  who  go  to  worship  God  in 
this  box  of  confectionary  work,  can  they  be  Christians  ?  Such 
was  the  exclamation  that  escaped  me  at  the  first  view  of  the 
church  of  Vassili.  That  building  must  indeed  possess  an  extra- 
ordinary style  of  architecture  to  have  drawn  my  attention,  as  it 
did,  from  the  Kremlin,  at  the  moment  when  the  mighty  castle  for 
the  first  time  met  my  eyes. 

Soon,  however,  my  ideas  took  another  turn.  Where  is  the 
Frenchman  who  could  resist  an  emotion  of  respect  and  of  pride 
(for  misfortune  has  its  pride,  and  it  is  the  most  legitimate  kind), 
on  entering  into  the  only  city  where,  in  our  own  times,  took  place 
a  public  event,  a  scene,  as  imposing  as  the  most  striking  occurrences 
of  ancient  history  ? 

The  means  that  the  Asiatic  city  took  to  repel  its  enemy  was  a 
sublime  deed  of  despair  ;  and  thenceforward  the  name  of  Moscow 
became  fatally  united  with  that  of  the  greatest  captain  of  modern 
times.  The  sacred  bird  of  the  Greeks  consumed  itself  in  order 
to  escape  the  talons  of  the  eagle,  and,  like  the  phoenix,  the  mystic 
dove  also  rises  again  from  its  ashes. 

God  was  willing  to  furnish  the  chroniclers  of  the  age — an  age 
the  most  prosaic  that  the  world  has  ever  seen — with  one  epic  sto- 
ry. Moscow  was  voluntarily  sacrificed,  and  the  flames  of  that 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    WOKD    C'/AK.  285 

sacred  conflagration  became  the  signal  for  the  revolution  of  Ger- 
many and  the  deliverance  of  Europe.  The  nations  felt  at  last 
that  they  would  have  no  rest  until  they  had  annihilated  the 
indefatigable  conqueror  who  sought  peace  by  means  of  perpetual 
war. 

Such  were  the  recollections  that  absorbed  my  thoughts  at  the 
first  view  of  the  Kremlin.  To  have  worthily  recompensed  Mos- 
cow, the  Emperor  of  Russia  ought  to  have  re-established  his  re- 
sidence in  that  twice  holy  city. 

The  Kremlin  is  not  like  any  other  palace,  it  is  a  city  in  itself ; 
a  city  that  forms  the  root  of  Moscow,  and  that  serves  as  the  fron- 
tier fortress  between  two  quarters  of  the  world.  Under  the  suc- 
cessors of  Genghis- Khan,  Asia  made  her  last  rush  upon  Europe  ; 
in  turning  to  retreat,  she  struck  the  earth  with  her  foot,  and  from 
thence  rose  the  Kremlin ! 

The  princes  who  now  possess  this  sacred  -asylum  of  oriental 
despotism  call  themselves  Europeans,  because  they  have  chased 
the  Calmucs,  their  brethren,  their  tyrants,  and  their  instructors, 
out  of  Muscovy.  None  resemble  the  khans  of  Sarai'  so  much  as 
their  antagonists,  the  czars  of  Moscow^  who  have  borrowed  from 
them  even  to  their  very  title.  The  Russians  gave  the  name  of 
czars  to  the  khans  of  the  Tartars.  Karamsin  says,  on  this  sub- 
ject, vol.  vi.  p.  438  : — 

"  This  word  is  not  derived  from  the  Latin  Ccesar,  as  several 
learned  men  erroneously  suppose.  It  is  an  ancient  oriental  word, 
as  may  be  seen  in  the  Sclavonian  translation  of  the  Bible ;  and  it 
was  first  given  by  us  to  the  emperors  of  the  East,  and  afterwards 
to  the  Tartar  khans.  It  signifies,  in  Persic,  a  throne,  or  supreme 
authority ;  and  it  is  to  be  traced  in  the  termination  of  the  names 
of  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonish  kings,  as  Phalassar,  Nabonassar, 
&c."  He  adds,  in  a  note,  "  In  our  translation  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. Kcssar  is  written  for  Csesar;  but  tzar,  or  czar,  is  altoge- 
ther a  different  word." 

On  first  entering  the  city  of  Moscow,  I  forgot  poetry,  and  even 
history ;  I  thought  only  of  what  I  saw,  which  was  not  very  strik- 
ing, for  I  found  myself  in  streets  similar  to  those  in  the  outskirts 
of  all  great  cities  :  I  crossed  a  boulevard  which  resembled  other 
boulevards,  and  then,  after  driving  down  a  gentle  descent,  found 
myself  amongst  straight  and  handsome  lines  of  houses  built  of 
stone.  At  last  I  reached  the  Dmitriskoi-street,  where  a  hand- 
some and  comfortable  chamber  had  been  engaged  for  me  in  an  ex- 
cellent English  hotel.  I  had,  at  Petersburg,  been  commended 
to  Madame  Howard,  who  without  this  introduction  would  not 


286  THE    CITY    BY    MOONLIGHT. 

have  received  me  into  her  house.  I  took  care  not  to  reproach 
her  for  being  so  scrupulous,  for  it  is  owing  to  this  precaution  that 
one  can  sleep  comfortably  in  her  establishment.  The  means  by 
which  she  has  succeeded  in  maintaining  there  a  cleanliness  rare- 
ly seen  any  where,  and  which  is  an  absolute  miracle  in  Russia,  is 
the  having  had  erected,  in  her  court-yard,  a  separate  building,  in 
which  the  Russian  servants  are  obliged  to  sleep.  These  men 
never  enter  the  principal  edifice  except  to  wait  upon  their  masters. 
In  her  judicious  precautions,  Madame  Howard  goes  yet  further. 
She  will  scarcely  admit  any  Russian  guest :  consequently,  nei- 
ther my  feldjager  nor  coachman  knew  her  house,  and  we  had  some 
difficulty  in  finding  it ;  although  it  is,  notwithstanding  its  want 
of  a  sign,  the  best  inn  in  Moscow  and  in  Russia.  Immediately 
on  being  installed,  I  sat  down  to  write.  Night  is  now  approach- 
ing, and  as  there  is  a  bright  moon,  I  lay  aside  my  pen  in  order 
to  take  a  ramble  over  the  city,  which  promenade  I  will  describe 
on  my  return. 


I  commenced  my  perambulations  at  about  ten  o'clock,  without 
guide  or  companion,  and  strolled  at  hazard  from  street  to  street, 
according  to  my  usual  custom.  I  first  traversed  several  long  and 
wide  streets,  more  hilly  than  most  of  those  in  Russia,  but  laid 
out  with  equal  regularity.  There  can  be  no  complaint  of  the 
want  of  straight  lines  in  the  architecture  of  this  country,  never- 
theless, the  line  and  rule  have  less  spoilt  Moscow  than  Petersburg. 
In  the  latter,  the  imbecile  tyrants  of  modern  cities  found  a  level 
surface  ready  prepared  for  them ;  here  they  had  to  struggle  with 
the  inequalities  of  the  soil,  and  with  the  ancient  national  edifices. 
Thanks  to  these  invincible  obstacles  presented  by  nature  and 
history,  the  aspect  of  Moscow  is  still  that  of  an  ancient  city.  It 
is  more  picturesque  than  any  other  in  the  empire,  which  con- 
tinues to  recognise  it  as  its  capital,  in  spite  of  the  almost  super- 
natural efforts  of  the  Czar  Peter  and  his  successors :  so  strong  is 
the  law  of  circumstances  against  the  will  of  men — men  even  the 
most  powerful.  Despoiled  of  its  religious  honours,  deprived  of  its 
patriarch,  abandoned  by  its  sovereign,  and  by  the  most  courtly 
of  its  ancient  boyars,  without  any  other  attractive  association 
than  that  of  an  heroic  event,  too  modern  to  be  as  yet  duly  appre- 
ciated, Moscow  has  been  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  commerce 
and  industry.  They  boast  of  its  silk  manufactories.  But  the 
history  and  the  architecture  are  still  here  to  preserve  its  impre- 


I'OPI'LATIO.V    OF    MOSCOW.  287 

scriptible  rights  to  political  supremacy.  The  Russian  govern- 
ment favours  the  pursuits  of  industry :  being  unable  altogether 
to  stem  the  torrent  of  the  age,  it  prefers  enriching  the  people  to 
enfranchising  them. 

This  evening,  towards  ten  o'clock,  the  sun  sank,  and  the  moon 
rose.  The  turrets  of  the  convents,  the  spires  of  the  chapels,  the 
towers,  the  battlements,  the  palaces,  and  all  the  irregular  and 
frowning  masses  of  buildings  that  form  the  Kremlin,  were  here 
and  there  swathed  with  wreaths  of  light  as  resplendent  as  golden 
fringes,  while  the  body  of  the  city  was  seen  only  by  the  remaining 
beams  of  day,  which  momentarily  faded  on  the  painted  tiles,  the 
copper  cupolas,  the  gilded  chains,  and  the  metallic  roofs,  that 
make  the  firmament  of  Moscow.  These  edifices,  the  general 
grouping  of  which  gives  the  idea  of  some  rich  tapestry,  still  how- 
ever stood  in  richly  coloured  relief  against  the  faint  blue  ground 
of  heaven.  It  seemed  as  though  the  sun  were  willing  to  give  a 
parting  salute  to  the  ancient  capital  of  Russia.  This  adieu  ap- 
peared to  me  magnificent ;  although  clouds  of  mosquitoes  buzzed 
about  my  ears,  and  my  eyes  were  filled  with  the  dust  of  the 
streets,  kept  in  continual  motion  by  the  thousands  of  vehicles 
moving  about,  at  a  gallop,  in  all  directions. 

The  most  numerous  were  the  truly  national  droshkis,  those 
tiny  summer  sledges,  which  being  unable  conveniently  to  carry 
more  than  one  person  at  a  time,  are  multiplied  to  infinity  in  order 
to  meet  the  wants  of  an  active  population,  numerous,  but  lost  in 
the  circuit  of  so  immense  a  city.  The  dust  of  Moscow  is  exces- 
sively troublesome,  being  fine  as  the  lightest  ashes.  We  have 
still  a  burning  temperature.  The  Russians  are  astonished  at  the 
intensity  and  duration  of  the  heat  of  this  summer. 

The  Sclavonian  Empire — that  rising  sun  of  the  political  world 
towards  which  all  the  earth  is  turning  its  eyes — is  it  also  to  be 
blessed  with  the  sun  of  heaven  ?  The  natives  pretend,  and  often 
repeat,  that  the  climate  is  ameliorating.  Wonderful  power  of 
human  civilization,  whose  progress  is  to  change  even  the  tempe- 
rature of  the  globe  !  Whatever  may  be  the  winters  of  Moscow 
and  Petersburg,  I  know  few  climates  more  disagreeable  than  that 
of  these  two  cities  during  the  summer.  It  is  the  fine  season 
which  should  be  called  the  bad  weather  of  northern  lands. 

The  first  thing  that  struck  me  in  the  streets  of  Moscow  was 
the  more  lively,  free,  and  careless  bearing  of  the  population  as 
compared  with  that  of  Petersburg.  An  air  of  liberty  is  here 
breathed  that  is  unknown  to  the  rest  of  the  empire.  It  is  this 
which  explains  to  me  the  secret  aversion  of  the  sovereigns  to  the 


288  TIIK     OBJECT    OF    G'ONSCIENOK. 

old  city,  which  they  flatter, 'fear,  and  fly.  The  Emperor  Nicholas, 
who  is  a  good  Russian,  says  he  is  very  fond  of  it :  but  I  cannot 
see  that  he  resides  in  it  more  than  did  his  predecessors,  who  de- 
tested it. 

This  evening,  a  few  streets  were  partially  illuminated.  It  is 
difficult  to  understand  the  taste  of  the  Russians  for  illuminations, 
when  we  recollect  that  during  the  short  season,  when  they  can 
alone  enjoy  this  kind  of  spectacle,  there  is  scarcely  any  night  in 
the  latitude  of  Moscow,  and  still  less  in  that  of  Petersburg. 

On  returning  to  my  lodgings,  I  asked  the  cause  of  these  mode- 
rate demonstrations  of  joy,  and  was  informed  that  the  illumination 
was  in  honour  of  the  anniversaries  of  the  births  or  baptisms  of  all 
the  members  of  the  Imperial  family.  There  are,  in  Russia,  so 
many  permanent  fetes  of  this  sort,  that  they  pass  almost  unnoticed. 
This  indifference  proves  to  me  that  fear  can  be  sometimes  impru- 
dent, that  it  does  not  always  know  how  to  flatter  so  well  as  it 
would  wish  to  do.  Love  is  the  only  really  skilful  flatterer,  because 
its  praises,  even  when  most  exaggerated,  are  sincere.  This  is  a 
truth  which  conscience  vainly  preaches  in  the  ear  of  despots. 

The  inefncacy  of  conscience  in  human  affairs,  in  the  greatest  as 
in  the  least,  is,  to  me,  the  most  wonderful  mystery  in  this  world, 
for  it  proves  to  me  the  existence  of  another.  Grod  creates  nothing 
without  an  object :  since,  then,  he  has  given  conscience  to  every 
individual,  and  since  that  eternal  light  is  so  useless  upon  earth, 
it  must  have  its  ordained  mission  to  fulfil  elsewhere  .  the  evil 
deeds  of  this  world  have  for  their  excusors  our  passions ;  the  jus- 
tice of  the  next  world  will  have  for  its  advocate  our  conscience. 

I  slowly  followed  the  promenaders  of  the  streets,  and  after 
having  ascended  and  descended  several  declivities  in  the  wake  of, 
a  wave  of  idle  loungers,  whom  I  mechanically  took  for  guides,  I 
reached  the  centre  of  the  city,  a  shapeless  square,  adjoining  which 
was  a  garden,  with  alleys  of  trees  brilliantly  lighted,  and  under 
the  shade  of  which  could  be  heard  the  sound  of  distant  music. 
Several  open  cafes  tended  further  to  remind  me  of  Europe ;  but  I 
could  not  interest  myself  in  these  amusements  :  I  was  beneath  the 
walls  of  the  Kremlin, — that  colossal  mountain  raised  for  tyranny 
by  the  hands  of  slaves.  For  the  modern  city  a  public  promenade 
has  been  made,  a  species  of  garden  planted,  in  the  English  taste, 
round  the  walls  of  the  ancient  fortress  of  Moscow. 

How  am  I  to  describe  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin  ?  The  word 
wall  gives  an  idea  of  quite  too  ordinary  an  object ;  it  would  deceive 
the  reader  :  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin  are  a  chain  of  mountains. 
This  citadel,  reared  on  the  confines  of  Europe  and  Asia,  is,  as 


DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    FORTRESS.  289 

compared  with  ordinary  ramparts,  what  the  Alps  are  to  our  hills : 
the  Kremlin  is  the  Mont  Blanc  of  fortresses.  If  the  giant  that  is 
called  the  Russian  empire  had  a  heart,  I  should  say  that  the  Krem- 
lin was  the  heart  of  the  monster ;  but,  as  it  is,  I  would  call  it  the 
head. 

I  wish  I  could  give  an  idea  of  this  mighty  pile  of  stones,  reared 
step  by  step  into  the  heavens  ;  this  asylum  of  despotism,  raised  in 
the  name  of  liberty :  for  the  Kremlin  was  a  barrier  opposed  to  the 
Calmucs  by  the  Russians :  its  walls  have  equally  aided  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  state  and  the  tyranny  of  the  sovereign.  They  are 
boldly  carried  over  the  deep  sinuosities  of  the  soil.  When  the 
declivities  of  the  hillocks  become  too  precipitous,  the  rampart  is 
lowered  by  steps :  these  steps,  rising  between  heaven  and  earth, 
are  enormous ;  they  are  the  ladders  of  the  giants  who  make  war 
against  the  gods. 

The  line  of  the  first  girdle  of  structures  is  broken  by  fantastic 
towers,  so  elevated,  strong,  and  grotesque  in  their  appearance  as  to 
remind  one  of  the  peaks  in  Switzerland,  with  their  many-shaped 
rocks,  and  their  many-coloured  glaciers.  The  obscurity  no  doubt 
contributed  to  increase  the  size  of  objects,  and  to  give  them  unusual 
forms  and  tints, — I  say  tints-,  for  night,  like  engravings,  has  its 
colouring.  To  behold  gentlemen  and  ladies,  dressed  a  laparis- 
ienne,  promenading  at  the  feet  of  this  fabulous  palace,  was  to  fancy 
myself  in  a  dream.  What  would  Ivan  III.,  the  restorer,  or  it 
might  be  said  the  founder  of  the  Kremlin,  have  thought,  could  he 
have  beheld  at  the  foot  of  the  sacred  fortress  his  old  Muscovites, 
shaved,  curled,  and  dressed  in  frock  coats,  white  pantaloons,  and 
yellow  gloves,  eating  ices,  seated  before  a  brightly  lighted  cafe  ? 
He  would  have  said,  as  I  do,  it  is  impossible !  and  yet  this  is  now 
seen  every  summer  evening  in  Moscow. 

I  have,  then,  wandered  in  the  public  gardens  planted  on  the 
glacis  of  the  ancient  citadel  of  the  Czars ;  I  have  seen  the  towers, 
wall  above  wall,  the  platforms,  terrace  upon  terrace,  and  my  eyes 
have  swept  over  an  enchanted  city.  It  would  need  the  eloquence 
of  youth,  which  everything  astonishes  and  surprises,  to  find  words 
analogous  to  these  prodigious  things.  Above  a  long  vault  through 
which  I  passed,  I  perceived  a  raised  viaduct,  by  which  carriages 
and  foot-passengers  entered  the  holy  city.  The  spectacle  was 
bewildering ;  nothing  but  towers,  gates,  and  terraces,  raised  one 
above  the  other,  steep  slopes  and  piled  arches,  all  serving  to  form 
the  road  by  which  the  Moscow  of  the  present  day,  the  vulgar 
Moscow,  is  left  for  the  Kremlin — the  Moscow  of  miracle  and  of 
history.  These  aqueducts,  without  water,  support  other  stories  of 
13 


290  THE    KREMLIN. 

more  fantastic  edifices.  I  observed,  raised  upon  one  of  the  hang- 
ing passages,  a  low  round  tower,  all  bristling  with  battlements  of 
spear-heads.  The  silver  brightness  of  this  ornament  contrasted 
singularly  with  the  blood-red  of  the  walls.  The  tower  seemed  like 
a  crowned  giant  standing  before  the  fortress  of  which  he  was  the 
guardian.  What  is  there  that  one  could  not  see  when  wandering 
by  the  light  of  the  moon  at  the  foot  of  the  Kremlin  ?  There, 
everything  is  supernatural ;  the  mind  believes  in  spectres  in  spite 
of  itself.  Who  could  approach  without  a  religious  terror  this 
sacred  bulwark,  a  stone  of  which,  disturbed  by  Bonaparte,  re- 
bounded even  to  St.  Helena,  and  crushed  the  conqueror  in  the 
bosom  of  the  ocean !  Pardon,  reader,  I  am  born  in  the  age  of 
grandiloquence. 

The  newest  of  the  new  schools  is  endeavouring  to  banish  it, 
and  to  simplify  language  upon  the  principle  that  people  the  most 
devoid  of  imagination  are  those  who  most  carefully  shun  the 
errors  of  a  faculty  which  they  do  not  possess.  I  can  admire  a 
puritanical  style  when  it  is  employed  by  superior  talents,  talents 
capable  of  divesting  it  of  all  monotony,  but  I  cannot  imitate  it. 

After  having  seen  all  that  I  have  gazed  upon  this  evening,  it 
would  be  wise  to  return  straight  to  one's  own  country  :  the  excite- 
ment of  the  journey  is  exhausted. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

The  Kremlin  by  Daylight. — Character  of  its  Architecture. — Symbolic  Imagery. — Relation 
between  the  Character  of  Buildings  and  Builders.— Ivan  IV.— Patience  Criminal. — Intro- 
duction to  the  History  of  Ivan  IV. 

AN  attack  of  ophthalmia,  which  came  on  between  Petersburg  and 
Moscow,  gives  me  much  pain  and  annoyance.  Notwithstanding 
this  malady,  I  resumed  to-day  my  promenade  of  yesterday  even- 
ing, in  order  to  compare  the  Kremlin  by  daylight  with  the  fan- 
tastic Kremlin  of  the  night.  The  shade  increases  and  distorts 
everything  :  the  sun  restores  to  objects  their  forms  and  their 
proportions. 

At  this  second  view  the  fortress  of  the  Czars  still  surprised 
me.  The  moonlight  magnified,  and  threw  out  in  strong  relief 
certain  masses  of  the  fabric,  but  it  concealed  others ;  and,  while 
acknowledging  that  I  had  imagined  to  myself  too  many  vaults, 
and  galleries,  hanging  roads,  and  lofty  portals,  I  found  quite 


THE    KREMLIN.  291 

enough  of  all  these  objects  to  justify  my  enthusiasm.  There  is 
something  of  everything  at  the  Kremlin :  it  is  a  varied  landscape 
in  stone.  The  solidity  of  its  ramparts  exceeds  that  of  the  rocks 
on  which  they  stand.  The  multitude  and  multiformity  of  its 
parts  are  a  marvel.  This  labyrinth  of  palaces,  museums,  towers, 
churches  and  dungeons,  is  terrific  as  the  architecture  of  Martin  ; 
it  is  as  great  and  more  irregular  than  the  compositions  of  that 
English  painter.  Mysterious  sounds  rise  out  of  the  depth  of  its 
subterranes ;  such  abodes  must  be  haunted  by  spirits,  they  can- 
not belong  to  beings  like  ourselves.  The  citadel  of  Moscow  is 
not  merely  a  palace,  a  national  sanctuary  for  the  historical 
treasures  of  the  empire  ;  it  is  the  bulwark  of  Russia,  the  revered 
asylum  in  which  sleep  the  tutelary  saints  of  the  country ;  it  is 
also  the  prison  of  spectres. 

This  morning,  still  wandering  without  a  guide,  I  penetrated 
even  to  the  heart  of  the  fortress,  and  found  my  way  into  the 
interior  of  some  of  the  churches  which  ornament  that  pious  city, 
as  venerated  by  the  Russians  for  its  relics  as  for  the  worldly  riches 
and  the  warlike  trophies  which  it  encloses.  I  am  too  excited  now 
to  describe  these  objects  in  detail,  but  hereafter  I  shall  pay  a 
methodical  visit  to  the  treasury. 

The  Kremlin,  on  its  hill,  gives  me  the  idea  of  a  city  of  princes,  - 
built  in  the  midst  of  a  city  of  people.  This  tyrannical  castle,  this 
proud  heap  of  stones,  looks  down  scornfully  upon  the  abodes  of 
common  men ;  and,  contrary  to  what  is  the  case  in  structures  of 
ordinary  dimensions,  the  nearer  we  approach  the  indestructible 
mass,  the  more  our  wonder  increases.  Like  the  bones  of  certain 
gigantic  animals,  the  Kremlin  proves  to  us  the  history  of  a  world 
of  which  we  might  doubt  until  after  seeing  the  remains.  In  this 
prodigious  creation,  strength  takes  the  place  of  beauty,  caprice  of 
elegance :  it  is  like  the  dream  of  a  tyrant,  fearful  but  full  of 
power ;  it  has  something  about  it  that  disowns  the  age  ;  means  of 
defence  which  are  adapted  to  a  system  of  war  that  exists  no  longer  ; 
an  architecture  that  has  no  connection  with  the  wants  of  modern 
civilization  :  a  heritage  of  the  fabulous  ages ;  a  gaol,  a  palace,  a 
sanctuary,  a  bulwark  against  the  nation's  foes,  a  bastille  against 
the  nation,  a  prop  of  tyrants,  a  prison  of  people, — such  is  the 
Kremlin.  A  kind  of  northern  Acropolis,  a  Pantheon  of  bar- 
barism, this  national  fabric  may  be  called  the  Alcazar  of  the 
Sclavonians.' 

Such,  then,  was  the  chosen  abode  of  the  old  Muscovite  prin- 
ces ;  and  yet  these  formidable  walls  were  not  sufficient  shelter 
for  the  terror  of  Ivan  IV. 


292  THE    KREMLIN. 

The  fear  of  a  man  possessing  absolute  power  is  the  most  dread- 
ful thing  upon  earth  ;  and  with  all  the  imagery  of  this  fear  visi- 
ble in  the  Kremlin,  it  is  still  impossible  to  approach  the  fabric 
without  a  shudder. 

Towers  of  every  form,  round,  square,  and  with  pointed  roofs, 
belfries,  donjons,  turrets,  spires,  sentry-boxes  fixed  upon  minarets, 
steeples  of  every  height,  style,  and  colour  ;  palaces,  domes,  watch- 
towers,  walls,  embattlemented  and  pierced  with  loopholes ;  ram- 
parts, fortifications  of  every  species,  whimsical  inventions,  incom- 
prehensible devices,  chiosks  by  the  side  of  the  cathedrals — every 
thing  announces  violation  and  disorder,  every  thing  betrays  the 
continual  surveillance  necessary  to  the  security  of  the  singular 
beings  who  were  condemned  to  live  in  this  supernatural  world. 
Yet  these  innumerable  monuments  of  pride,  caprice,  voluptuous- 
ness, glory,  and  piety,  notwithstanding  their  apparent  variety, 
express  one  single  idea,  which  reigns  here  everywhere — war 
maintained  by  fear.  The  Kremlin  is  the  work  of  a  superhuman 
being,  but  that  being  is  malevolent.  Glory  in  slavery — such  is 
the  allegory  figured  by  this  satanic  monument,  as  extraordinary 
in  architecture  as  the  visions  of  St.  John  are  in  poetry.  It  is  a 
habitation  which  would  suit  some  of  the  personages  of  the 
Apocalypse. 

In  vain  is  each  turret  distinguished  by  its  peculiar  character 
and  its  particular  use ;  all  have  the  same  signification, — terror 
armed. 

Some  resemble  the  caps  of  priests,  others  the  mouth  of  a 
dragon,  others  swords,  their  points  in  the  air,  others  the  forms 
and  even  the  colours  of  various  exotic  fruits  ;  some  again  repre- 
sent ahead-dress  of  the  czars,  pointed,  and  adorned  with  jewels 
like  that  of  the  Doge  of  Venice ;  others  are  simple  crowns  ;  and  all 
this  multitude  of  towers  faced  with  glazed  tiles,  of  metallic  cupo- 
las, of  enamelled,  gilded,  azured,  and  silvered  domes,  shine  in 
the  sun  like  the  colossal  stalactites  of  the  salt-mines  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Cracow.  These  enormous  pillars,  these  steeples  and 
turrets  of  every  shape,  pointed,  pyramidical,  and  circular,  but 
always  in  some  manner  suggesting  the  idea  of  the  human  form, 
seem  to  reign  over  the  city  and  the  land.  To  see  them  from 
afar,  shining  in  the  sky,  one  might  fancy  them  an  assembly  of 
potentates,  richly  robed  and  decorated  with  the  insignia  of  their 
dignity,  a  meeting  of  their  ancestral  beings,  a  council  of  kings, 
each  seated  upon  his  tomb ;  spectres  hovering  over  the  pinnacles 
of  a  palace.  To  inhabit  a  place  like  the  Kremlin  is  not  to  reside, 
it  is  to  defend  one's  self.  Oppression  creates  revolt,  revolt  ne- 


IVAN  iv.  293 

cessitates  precautions,  precautions  increase  dangers,  and  this  long 
series  of  actions  and  reactions  engenders  a  monster;  that  mon- 
ster is  despotism,  which  has  built  itself  a  house  at  Moscow.  The 
giants  of  the  antediluvian  world,  were  they  to  return  to  earth  to 
visit  their  degenerate  successors,  might  still  find  a  suitable  hab- 
itation in  the  Kremlin. 

Every  thing,  whether  purposely  or  not,  has  a  symbolical  sense 
in  its  architecture ;  but  the  real,  the  abiding,  that  appears  after 
you  have  divested  yourself  of  your  first  emotions  in  the  contem- 
plation of  these  barbaric  splendours,  is,  after  all,  only  a  congre- 
gation of  dungeons  pompously  surnamed  palaces  and  cathedrals. 
The  Russians  may  do  their  best,  but  they  can  never  come  out  of 
the  prison. 

The  very  climate  is  an  accomplice  of  tyranny.  The  cold  of 
the  country  does  not  permit  the  construction  of  vast  churches, 
where  the  faithful  would  be  frozen  at  prayer :  here,  the  soul  is 
not  lifted  to  heaven  by  the  glories  of  religious  achitecture  ;  in 
this  zone,  man  can  only  build  to  his  God  gloomy  donjons.  The 
sombre  cathedrals  of  the  Kremlin,  with  their  narrow  vaults  and 
thick  walls,  resemble  caves  ;  they  are  painted  prisons,  just  as  the 
palaces  are  gilded  gaols. 

As  travellers  say  of  the  recesses  of  the  Alps,  so  of  the  won- 
ders of  this  architecture — they  are  horribly  beautiful. 


Whether  the  Kremlin  be  viewed  under  a  purely  historical,  or  a 
poetical  and  picturesque  aspect,  it  is  the  most  national  monument 
in  Russia,  and  consequently  the  most  interesting  both  for  Rus- 
sians and  for  foreigners. 

This  sanctuary  of  despotism  was  reconstructed  in  stone  for 
Ivan  III.,  in  1485,  by  two  Italian  architects,  Marco  and  Pietro 
Antonio,  who  were  invited  to  Moscow  by  the  Great  Prince* 
when  he  wished  to  again  rear  the  ramparts,  formerly  wooden,  of 
the  fortress  more  anciently  founded  under  Dmitri  Donskoi. 

But  if  the  Kremlin  was  not  built  by  Ivan  IV.,  it  was  built  for 
him.  It  was  by  a  spirit  of  prophecy  that  the  great  king,  his 
grandfather,  constructed  the  palace  of  the  tyrant.  Italian  archi- 
tects may  be  found  every  where,  but  in  no  other  place  have  they 
produced  a  work  similar  to  that  which  they  raised  at  Moscow.  I 

*  The  title  then  given  to  the  grand-dukes  of  Moscow. 


294  IVAN  iv. 

may  add  that  there  have  been  elsewhere  absolute,  unjust,  arbi- 
trary, and  capricious  sovereigns,  and  yet,  that  the  reign  of  none 
of  these  monsters  has  resembled  that  of  Ivan  IV.  The  same  seed 
springing  under  different  climates  and  in  different  soils,  produces 
plants  of  the  same  species,  but  of  many  varieties.  The  earth  will 
never  see  another  masterpiece  of  despotism  similar  to  the  Kremlin, 
nor  another  nation  as  superstitiously  patient  as  was  the  Muscovite 
under  the  monstrous  reign  of  its  greatest  tyrant. 

The  consequences  of  that  reign  are  felt  even  in  our  days. 
Had  the  reader  accompanied  me  in  this  journey,  he  would  have 
discovered,  as  I  have  done,  in  the  inner  depths  of  the  Russian 
character,  the  inevitable  injury  produced  by  arbitrary  power 
carried  to  its  last  excess  ;  showing  itself  by  a  careless  indifference 
to  the  sanctity  of  truth  in  speech,  of  candour  in  sentiment,  and 
justice  in  acts ;  and  when  fully  developed,  by  falsehood  rampant 
in  all  its  forms,  fraud  triumphant,  and  the  sense,  in  fact,  wholly 
destroyed. 

I  could  fancy  I  saw  a  procession  of  vices  pouring  forth  from 
all  the  gates  of  the  Kremlin  to  inundate  Russia. 

Other  nations  have  supported  oppression,  the  Russian  nation 
has  loved  it :  it  loves  it  still.  Is  not  such  fanaticism  of  obedience 
characteristic  ?  It  may  not,  however,  be  denied  that  this  popular 
mania  has  here  sometimes  become  the  principle  of  sublime  actions. 
In  this  inhuman  land,  if  society  has  depraved  the  individual,  it  has 
not  enervated  him  :  he  is  not  good,  but  he  is  also  not  contemptible. 
The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Kremlin :  it  is  not  pleasant  to  be- 
hold, but  it  inspires  awe.  It  is  not  beautiful,  but  it  is  terrible 
— terrible  as  the  reign  of  Ivan  IV. 

Such  a  reign  blinds  to  the  latest  generations  the  minds  of  a 
nation  which  submitted  to  it  patiently :  the  crime  of  treason  against 
humanity  attaints  the  blood  of  a  people  even  to  its  most  distant 
posterity.  This  crime  consists  not  only  in  exercising  injustice, 
but  likewise  in  tolerating  it ;  a  nation  which,  under  the  pretext 
that  obedience  is  the  chief  virtue,  bequeaths  tyranny  to  its  children, 
both  mistakes  its  interest  and  neglects  its  duty.  Blind  endurance, 
fidelity  to  insane  masters,  are  contemptible  virtues ;  submission 
is  only  praiseworthy,  sovereignty  is  only  venerable,  when  they 
become  the  means  of  insuring  the  rights  of  mankind.  When 
kings  forget  the  conditions  on  which  a  man  is  permitted  to  reign 
over  his  fellow-men,  the  citizens  ought  to  look  to  God,  their 
eternal  governor,  who  absolves  them  from  their  oath  of  fidelity  to 
their  temporal  master. 

Such  restrictions  the  Russians  have  neither  admitted  nor  un- 


THE    KREMLIN.  295 

derstood ;  yet  they  are  essential  to  the  development  of  true  civi- 
lization :  without  them,  circumstances  will  arise  under  which  the 
social  state  becomes  more  injurious  than  beneficial  to  mankind, 
and  when  the  sophists  would  be  right  in  sending  man  back  again 
to  his  native  woods. 

Nevertheless  this  doctrine,  with  whatever  moderation  it  be 
propounded,  passes  for  seditious  in  Petersburg.  The  Russians 
of  our  times  are  therefore  the  worthy  children  of  the  subjects  of 
Ivan  IV. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Peculiar  Character  of  Architecture  in  Moscow. — Observation  of  Madame  de  Stael's.— Kitai- 
gorod. — Madonna  of  Vivielski.— Church  of  Vassili  Blagennoi.— The  Holy  Gate.— Advan- 
tage of  faith  over  Doubt. — Church  of  the  Assumption.— Foreign  Artists. — Tower  of  John 
the  Great. — Convent  of  the  Ascension.— Interior  of  the  Treasury.— Crowns  and  Thrones.— 
Treasures  of  the  Czars.— A  contrast.— Moorish  Palace. — New  Works  at  the  Kremlin.— 
Desecration  of  the  Fortress. — Error  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas.— Restoration  of  the  Capital 
to  Moscow. — View  of  Moscow  from  the  Kremlin.— Recollections  of  the  French  Army.— 
Observation  of  Napoleon's.— Danger  of  Heroism  in  Russia.— Rostopchin.— The  fall  of 
Napoleon.— Review  of  his  Character. 

YESTERDAY,  I  recommenced  my  travels  by  a  methodical  and 

minute  inspection  of  the  Kremlin,  under  the  conduct  of  M. , 

to  whom  I  had  an  introduction.  Still  the  Kremlin !  That  build- 
ing is  for  me  all  Moscow — all  Russia  ;  a  world  within  itself ! 
My  footman  went  in  the  morning  to  apprise  the  keeper,  who 
waited  for  us.  I  expected  to  find  an  ordinary  official,  instead  of 
which  we  were  received  by  a  military  officer,  a  polite  and  intel- 
ligent man. 

The  Treasury  of  the  Kremlin  is  deservedly  the  pride  of 
Russia.  It  might  serve  as  a  substitute  for  the  chronicles  of  the 
country ;  it  is  a  history  in  precious  stones. 

The  golden  vases,  the  pieces  of  armour,  the  ancient  furniture, 
are  not  merely  to  be  admired  in  themselves  ;  every  object  is  asso- 
ciated with  some  glorious  or  singular  event  worthy  of  commemo- 
ration. But  before  describing,  or  rather  rapidly  noticing,  the 
wonders  of  an  arsenal  that  has  not,  I  believe,  its  second  in  Eu- 
rope, the  reader  must  follow  me,  step  by  step,  along  the  way  by 
which  I  was  led  to  this  sanctuary,  revered  by  the  Russians,  and 
justly  admired  by  strangers. 

After  proceeding  through  several  straight  but  narrow  streets 
I  arrived  in  sight  of  the  fortress,  passing  under  an  archway,  be- 
fore which  my  footman  caused  the  coach  to  stop,  without  deeming 
it  necessary  to  consult  me,  so  well  known  is  the  interest  which 


296  ARCHITECTURE    OF    MOSCOW. 

attaches  to  the  place !  The  vault  forms  the  under  part  of  a 
tower,  singular  in  shape,  like  all  the  others  in  the  old  quarter  of 
Moscow. 

I  have  not  seen  Constantinople,  but  I  believe  that,  next  to 
that  city,  Moscow  is  the  most  striking  in  appearance  of  all  the 
capitals  in  Europe.  It  is  the  inland  Byzantium.  Fortunately 
the  squares  of  the  old  capital  are  not  so  immense  as  those  of 
Petersburg,  in  which  even  St.  Peter's  of  Rome  would  be  lost. 
At  Moscow,  the  sites  are  more  confined,  and  therefore  the  edi- 
fices produce  greater  effect.  The  despotism  of  straight  lines  and 
symmetrical  plans  is  opposed  here  both  by  nature  and  history  : 
Moscow  is  every  where  picturesque.  The  sky,  without  being 
clear,  has  a  silvery  brightness  :  the  models  of  every  species  of 
architecture  are  heaped  together  without  order  or  plan  ;  no  struc- 
tures are  perfect  as  works  of  art,  nevertheless  the  whole  strikes, 
not  with  admiration,  but  with  astonishment.  The  inequalities  of 
the  surface  multiply  the  points  of  view.  The  magic  glories  of 
multitudes  of  cupolas  sparkle  in  the  air.  Innumerable  gilded 
steeples,  in  form  like  minarets,  Oriental  pavilions  and  Indian 
domes,  transport  you  to  Delhi ;  donjon-keeps  and  turrets  bring 
you  back  to  Europe  in  the  times  of  the  crusades ;  the  sentinel, 
mounted  on  the  top  of  his  watch-tower,  reminds  you  of  the 
muezzin  inviting  the  faithful  to  prayer ;  while,  to  complete  the 
confusion  of  ideas,  the  cross,  which  glitters  in  every  direction, 
commanding  the  people  to  prostrate  themselves  before  the  Word, 
seems  as  though  fallen  from  heaven  amid  an  assembly  of  Asiatic 
nations,  to  point  out  to  them  all  the  narrow  way  of  salvation.  It 
was  doubtless  before  this  poetical  picture  that  Madame  de  Stael 
exclaimed — Moscow  is  the  Rome  of  the  North  ! 

The  massive  --tower,  at  the  foot  of  which  my  footman  made  me 
alight,  is  picturesquely  pierced  by  two  arches ;  it  separates  the 
walls  of  the  Kremlin,  properly  so  called,  from  their  continua- 
tion, which  serves  as  a  girdle  to  Kitaigorod,  the  city  of  the  mer- 
chants, another  quarter  of  old  Moscow,  founded  by  the  mother 
of  the  Czar,  John  Vassilievitch,  in  1534.  This  date  appears  to 
us  recent,  but  it  is  ancient  for  Russia,  the  youngest  of  the  Euro- 
pean realms. 

The  Kitaigorod,  a  species  of  suburb  to  the  Kremlin,  is  an 
immense  bazaar,  a  town  intersected  with  dark  and  vaulted  alleys, 
which  resemble  so  many  subterraneous  passages.  These  cata- 
combs of  the  merchants  form,  however,  no  cemeteries,  but  a 
permanent  fair.  They  are  a  labyrinth  of  galleries,  that  rather 
resemble  the  arcades  of  Paris,  although  less  elegant,  less  light, 


ARCHITECTURE    OF    MOSCOW.  297 

and  more  solid.  This  mode  of  building  is  essential  to  the  wants 
of  commerce  in  such  a  climate  ;  in  the  north,  covered  streets 
remedy,  as  far  as  it  is  possible,  the  inconveniences  and  severity 
of  the  open  air.  Sellers  and  buyers  are  there  sheltered  from 
the  storm,  the  snow,  and  the  frost ;  whereas  light  colonnades, 
open  to  the  day,  and  airy  porticoes,  have  an  aspect  that  is  ridicu- 
lous. Russian  architects  ought  to  take  the  moles  and  the  ants 
for  their  models. 

At  every  step  that  you  take  in  Moscow,  you  find  some  chapel, 
highly  venerated  by  the  people,  and  saluted  by  each  passenger. 
These  chapels,  or  niches,  generally  contain  some  image  of  the 
Virgin  kept  under  glass,  and  honoured  with  a  lamp  that  burns 
unceasingly.  Such  shrines  are  guarded  by  aged  soldiers.  These 
veterans  are  also  to  be  met  with  in  the  antechambers  of  the 
wealthy,  and  in  the  churches,  which  they  keep  in  order.  The 
life  of  an  old  Russian  soldier,  if  he  could  not  obtain  an  asylum 
among  the  rich,  or  among  the  priests,  would  be  one  of  extreme 
wretchedness.  A  charity  void  of  display  is  unknown  to  the 
government :  when  it  wishes  to  perform  an  act  of  benevolence,  it 
builds  palaces  for  the  sick,  or  for  children ;  and  the  facades  of 
these  pious  monuments  attract  all  eyes. 

In  the  pillar  which  separates  the  double  arcade  of  the  tower, 
is  enshrined  the  Virgin  of  Vivielski,  an  ancient  image,  painted 
in  the  Greek  style,  and  highly  venerated  at  Moscow.  I  observed 
that  every  body  who  passed  this  chapel — lords,  peasants,  trades- 
people, ladies,  and  military  men, — all  bowed  and  made  numerous 
signs  of  the  cross ;  many,  not  satisfied  with  so  humble  a  homage, 
stopped,  and  well-dressed  women  prostrated  themselves  to  the 
very  earth  before  the  miraculous  Virgin,  touching  even  the  pave- 
ment with  their  brows  ;  men  also,  above  the  rank  of  peasants, 
knelt,  and  repeated  signs  of  the  cross  innumerable.  These  re- 
ligious acts  in  the  open  streets  were  practised  with  a  careless 
rapidity  which  denoted  more  habit  than  fervour.  My  footman  is 
an  Italian.  Nothing  could  be  more  ludicrous  than  the  mixture 
of  conflicting  prejudices  which  are  working  in  the  head  of  this 
poor  foreigner,  who  has  been  for  a  great  number  of  years  esta- 
blished in  the  ancient  capital  of  Russia,  his  adopted  country. 
His  ideas  of  childhood,  brought  from  Rome,  disposed  him  to 
believe  in  the  intervention  of  the  saints  and  the  Virgin ;  and, 
without  losing  himself  in  theological  subtleties,  he  takes  for 
good,  in  default  of  better,  the  miracles  of  the  relics  and  images 
of  the  Greek  church.  This  poor  Catholic,  converted  into  a 
zealous  adorer  of  the  Virgin  of  Vivielski,  proves  to  me  the  om- 
13* 


298  MIRACULOUS    VIRGIN. 

nipotence  of  unanimity  in  creeds.  He  does  not  cease  repeating 
to  me.  with  Italian  loquacity,  "  Signor,  creda  a  me,  questa  ma- 
donna fa  dei  miracoli,  ma  dei  miracoli  veri,  veri  ve.rissimi,  non  £ 
come  da  noi  altri ;  in  questo  paese  tutti  gli  miracoli  sono  veri." 

This  Italian,  preserving  the  ingenuous  vivacity  and  the  good 
temper  of  the  people  of  his  country  in  the  empire  of  silence  and 
reserve,  amuses  me. 

A  gossip  in  Russia  is  a  phenomenon,  a  rarity  delightful  to  en- 
counter, a  thing  that  is  missed  every  hour  by  the  traveller,  wearied 
with  the  tact  and  prudence  of  the  natives  of  the  country.  To  in- 
duce this  man  to  talk,  which  is  not  difficult  to  accomplish,  I  risked 
a  few  doubts  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  miracles  of  his  Virgin 
of  Vivielski :  had  I  denied  the  spiritual  authority  of  the  Pope,  my 
Roman  servant  could  not  have  been  more  shocked.  In  seeing  a 
poor  Catholic,  endeavouring  to  prove  to  me  the  supernatural  power 
of  a  Greek  painting,  I  thought  that  it  is  no  longer  theology  that 
separates  the  two  churches.  The  history  of  all  the  Christian 
nations  teaches  us  that  princes,  in  aid  of  their  political  schemes, 
have  known  how  to  avail  themselves  of  the  obstinacy,  the  subtlety, 
and  the  logic  of  the  priests,  to  envenom  religious  controversies. 

In  the  small  square  to  which  the  vaulted  passage  leads,  stands 
a  group  in  bronze,  executed  in  a  very  bad  soi-disant  classic  style. 
I  could  have  fancied  myself  in  a  second-rate  sculptor's  studio  at 
the  Louvre  during  the  Empire.  The  group  represents,  under  the 
figure  of  two  Romans,  Minine  and  Pojarski,  the  liberators  of 
Russia,  from  which  country  they  drove  the  Poles  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  seventeenth  century, — singular  heroes  to  wear 
the  Roman  habit !  These  two  individuals  are  very  much  in 
fashion  in  the  present  day.  Further  on,  I  saw  before  me,  the 
extraordinary  church  of  Vassili  Blagennoi.  The  style  of  that 
grotesque  edifice  contrasts  in  a  whimsical  manner  with  the  classic 
statues  of  the  liberators  of  Moscow.  A  quantity  of  bulbous- 
shaped  cupolas,  not  one  of  which  resembles  the  other,  a  dish  of 
fruits,  a  vase  of  Delft  ware  full  of  pine-apples,  all  pointed  with 
golden  crosses,  a  colossal  crystallization, — such,  on  a  near  ap- 
proach, were  the  only  things  to  which  I  could  compare  the  church 
that  had  appeared  so  imposing  on  my  first  approach  to  the  city. 
This  building  is  small,  like  most  other  Russian  churches;  and, 
notwithstanding  the  interminable  medley  of  its  colours,  it  does  not 
long  interest  the  observer.  Two  fine  flights  of  steps  lead  to  the 
esplanade  on  which  it  stands.  The  interior  is  confined,  paltry, 
and  without  character.  Its  erection  cost  the  life  of  the  architect. 
It  was  built,  according  to  Laveau,  by  the  order  of  Ivan  IV.,  po- 


THE    HOLY    GATE.  299 

litely  surnamed  the  Terrible.  That  prince,  as  a  reward  to  the 
architect,  who  had  greatly  embellished  Moscow,  caused  his  eyes 
to  be  torn  out,  under  the  pretext  that  he  did  not  wish  such  a  chef- 
d'oeuvre  to  be  built  elsewhere. 

On  leaving  the  church,  we  passed  under  the  sacred  gate  of  the 
Kremlin  :  and,  in  accordance  with  the  custom  religiously  observed 
by  the  Russians,  I  took  care  to  doff  my  hat  before  entering  the 
archway,  which  is  not  long.  The  custom  is  traced  back  to  the 
time  of  the  last  attack  of  the  Calmucs,  whom  an  intervention  of 
the  tutelary  saints  of  the  empire  prevented,  so  they  say,  from 
penetrating  into  the  sacred  fortress.  The  saints  are  sometimes 
rather  inattentive,  but  on  this  day  they  were  on  the  look-out :  the 
Kremlin  was  saved ;  and  Russia  has  continued  to  acknowledge,  by 
a  mark  of  respect  renewed  every  moment,  the  remembrance  of  the 
divine  protection  in  which  she  glories.  There  is  in  these  public 
manifestations  of  a  religious  sentiment,  more  practical  philosophy 
than  in  the  incredulity  of  the  nations  who  call  themselves  the 
most  enlightened  on  earth,  because,  after  having  used  and  abused 
the  faculties  of  intelligence,  and  lost  all  taste  and  relish  for  the 
true  and  the  simple,  they  doubt  the  end  of  existence,  as  well  as 
every  thing  else,  and  glory  in  such  a  state  that  others  may  be  en- 
couraged to  imitate  them,  as  though  their  perplexity  were  worthy 
of  envy.  These  redoubtable  sages  deprive  the  nations  of  the 
springs  of  activity,  without  being  able  to  give  any  substitute  for 
what  they  destroy ;  for  a  thirst  for  riches  or  pleasure  inspires  man 
with  nothing  more  than  a  sensation  as  passing  and  feverish  as  his 
life  is  short.  It  is  the  temperament  and  the  physical  feelings, 
rather  than  the  light  of  intellect,  which  guide  the  materialists  in 
their  wavering  march,  ever  opposed  by  doubt :  for  the  reason  of  a 
man,  though  he  be  the  first  in  his  country,  though  a  Goethe  him- 
self, has  not  yet  reached  a  height  placed  beyond  the  influence  of 
doubt.  Now  doubt  inclines  the  heart  to  tolerance,  but  it  deters 
it  from  sacrifice.  In  the  arts,  in  the  sciences,  as  in  politics, 
sacrifice  is  the  basis  of  every  durable  work,  of  every  sublime  effort. 
This,  people  do  not  like  to  own — they  accuse  Christianity  of 
preaching  self-denial : — to  act  thus  is  to  blame  virtue.  The  priests 
of  Jesus  Christ  open  to  the  multitude  a  road  which  was  once  only 
known  and  trodden  by  the  higher  orders  of  human  intelligence. 

I  must  not  stay  to  again  describe  the  wonderful  aspect  of  the 
exterior  of  the  Kremlin — its  prodigious  walls  and  towers,  carried 
over  hills  and  ravines,  and  rising  above  each  other  in  every  variety 
of  style,  shape,  and  design,  forming  altogether  the  most  original 
and  poetical  architecture  of  the  world.  But  how  shall  I  describe 


300  TEE    ICHONOSTASIS. 

my  surprise  when,  on  entering  the  interior  of  the  enchanted  city, 
I  approached  the  building  called  the  Treasury,  and  saw  before  me 
a  little  modern  palace,  with  straight  lines  and  sharp  angles,  orna- 
mented in  front  by  Corinthian  pillars.  This  cold  and  puny  imita- 
tion of  the  antique,  for  which  I  ought  to  have  been  prepared, 
appeared  to  me  so  ridiculous,  that  I  stepped  back  some  paces  and 
asked  my  companion  permission  to  delay  our  visit  to  the  Treasury, 
under  pretext  of  first  admiring  some  churches.  After  having  been 
so  long  in  Russia,  I  ought  to  be  surprised  at  no  incoherence  in  the 
inventions  of  the  Imperial  architects ;  but  on  this  occasion,  the  dis- 
cordance was  so  glaring,  that  it  struck  me  as  quite  a  novelty. 

We  therefore  commenced  our  survey  by  a  visit  to  the  Cathedral 
of  the  Assumption.  This  church  possesses  one  of  those  innu- 
merable paintings  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  that  good  Christians,  of 
all  lands,  attribute  to  St.  Luke.  The  edifice  reminds  me  rather  of 
the  Saxon  and  the  Norman  than  of  our  Gothic  churches.  It  is 
the  work  of  an  Italian  architect  of  the  fifteenth  century.  After 
the  structure  had  sunk  and  fallen  in  several  times,  while  being 
erected  by  the  bad  artificers  and  worse  architects  of  the  land, 
foreign  aid  was  sought,  which  succeeded  in  making  the  work 
solid ;  but,  in  its  ornaments,  the  taste  of  the  country  has  been 
followed. 

I  am  ignorant  of  the  rule  prescribed  by  the  Greek  church  rela- 
tive to  the  worship  of  images  ;  but  in  seeing  this  church  entirely 
covered  with  paintings  in  fresco,  betraying  bad  taste,  and  designed 
in  the  stiff,  monotonous  style,  called  the  modern  Greek,  because  its 
models  were  brought  from  Byzantium,  I  asked  myself,  what  then 
are  the  figures,  what  can  be  the  subjects,  the  representation  of 
which  are  forbidden  in  the  Greek  church  ?  Apparently,  they 
banish  nothing  from  these  buildings  except  good  pictures. 

In  passing  before  the  Virgin  of  St.  Luke,  my  Italian  cicerone 
assured  me  that  it  was  genuine ;  he  added,  with  the  faith  of  a 
moujik,  "  Signore,  signore,  e  il  paese  dei  miracoli !  "  "  It  is  the  land 
of  miracles  !  "  I  believe  him,  for  fear  is  a  potent  thaumaturgist. 
What  a  singular  journey  is  this,  which  in  a  fortnight  conveys  you 
into  Europe  as  it  was  400  years  ago  !  Nay,  with  us,  even  in  the 
middle  ages,  man  better  felt  his  dignity  than  he  does  at  the  present 
day  in  Russia.  Princes  as  false  and  crafty  as  the  heroes  of  the 
Kremlin  would  never  have  been  surnamed  great  in  Western 
Europe. 

The  ichonostasis  of  this  cathedral  is  magnificently  painted  and 
gilded,  from  the  pavement  to  the  roof.  The  ichonostasis  is  a  par- 
tition, or  panel,  raised  in  Greek  churches  between  the  sanctuary, 


CHURCH    OF    SPASSNA    BOROU.  301 

which  is  always  concealed  by  doors,  and  the  nave,  where  the  faith- 
ful congregate.  The  church  is  nearly  square,  very  lofty,  and  so 
small  that  in  walking  through  it  you  feel  as  if  in  a  dungeon.  The 
building  contains  the  tombs  of  numerous  patriarchs ;  it  has  also 
very  rich  shrines  and  famous  relics  brought  from  Asia.  Viewed 
in  detail,  the  cathedral  is  any  thing  but  beautiful,  yet,  as  a  whole, 
there  is  something  about  it  which  is  imposing.  If  we  do  not 
admire,  we  feel  a  sense  of  sadness ;  and  this  is  something  :  for  sad- 
ness disposes  the  mind  to  religious  sentiments.  But  in  the  great 
structures  of  the  Catholic  church  there  is  something  more  than 
Christian  sadness ;  there  is  the  song  of  triumph  and  victorious 
faith. 

The  sacristy  contains  many  curiosities  ;  but  I  do  not  pretend 
to  give  a  list  of  the  wonders  of  Moscow.  I  speak  of  every  thing 
that  strikes  me,  and  for  more  complete  accounts  refer  the  reader 
to  Laveau,  Schnitzler,  and,  above  all,  to  my  successors.  Fresh 
travellers  cannot  fail  soon  to  explore  Russia  ;  for  this  country  will 
not  long  remain  so  little  known  as  it  is  at  present. 

The  steeple  of  John  the  Great,  Ivan  Velikoi,  is  contained 
within  the  walls  of  the  Kremlin.  It  is  the  loftiest  building  in 
the  city;  its  cupola,  according  to  Russian  custom,  is  gilded  with 
the  gold  of  ducats.  This  singular  tower  is  an  object  of  veneration 
to  the  Muscovite  peasants.  Every  thing  is  holy  at  Moscow,  so 
strongly  is  the  sentiment  of  respect  rooted  in  the  heart  of  the  Rus- 
sian people. 

The  church  of  Spassna  Borou  (the  Saviour  in  the  garden),  the 
most  ancient  in  Moscow,  was  also  shown  to  me  ;  and  near  to  it  a 
bell,  a  piece  of  which  is  broken  off,  the  largest  bell,  I  believe,  in 
the  world.  It  is  placed  on  the  ground,  and  is  in  itself  a  cupola. 
It  was  re-cast  after  a  fire  which  had  caused  it  to  fall,  in  the  reign 
of  the  Empress  Anne. 

We  likewise  visited  two  convents  within  the  Kremlin,  those 
of  the  Miracles  and  the  Ascension,  in  which  latter  are  the  tombs 
of  several  Czarinas ;  among  others  that  of  Helena,  the  mother  of 
Ivan  the  Terrible.  She  was  worthy  of  her  son  :  unmerciful  like 
him,  talent  was  her  only  recommendation.  Some  of  the  wives  of 
the  same  tyrant  are  also  buried  here.  The  churches  of  the  Con- 
vent of  the  Ascension  astonish  foreigners  by  their  riches. 

At  last  I  summoned  courage  to  face  the  Corinthian  columns 
of  the  Treasury  ;  so  braving  with  averted  eyes  those  dragons  of 
bad  taste,  I  entered  the  glorious  arsenal,  where  are  ranged,  as  in 
a  cabinet  of  curiosities,  the  most  interesting  historical  relics  of 
Russia.  ^. .  •  ".  'j  ' 

STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA? 

BENICIA  DI3TSIOT 

LIBRARY. 


302  CROWNS    AND    THRONES. 

What  a  collection  of  armour,  of  vases,  and  of  national  jewels  ! 
What  profusion  of  crowns  and  of  thrones  all  gathered  into  the 
same  place  !  The  manner  in  which  they  are  arranged  adds  to  the 
effect.  It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  good  taste  as  well  as  the 
political  wisdom  which  has  presided  over  the  disposition  of  so 
many  insignia  and  trophies.  The  display  may  be  a  little  boastful, 
but  patriotic  pride  is  the  most  Legitimate  of  any.  We  forgive  a 
passion  which  aids  us  in  fulfilling  our  duties.  There  is  here  em- 
blazoned a  profound  idea,  of  which  the  things  are  but  symbols. 

The  crowns  are  placed  on  cushions  raised  upon  pedestals,  and 
the  thrones,  ranged  along  the  wall,  are  reared  in  separate  alcoves. 
There  is  wanting  only  in  this  evocation  of  the  past,  the  presence 
of  the  men  for  whom  all  these  things  were  made.  Their  absence 
is  equivalent  to  a  sermon  on  the  vanity  of  human  life.  The  Krem- 
lin without  its  Czars  is  like  a  theatre  without  lights  or  actors. 

The  most  venerable,  if  not  the  most  imposing  of  the  crowns, 
is  that  of  Monomachus ;  it  was  brought  from  Byzantium  to  Kiew 
in  1116.  Another  crown  is  also  said  to  have  belonged  to  Mono- 
machus, though  many  consider  it  yet  more  ancient  than  the 
reign  of  that  prince.  In  this  royal  constellation  of  diadems,  are 
crowns  also  of  the  kingdoms  of  Kazan,  Astrachan,  and  Georgia^ 
The  view  of  these  satellites  of  royalty,  maintaining  a  respectful 
distance  from  the  star  that  governs  all — the  imperial  crown — is 
singularly  imposing.  Every  thing  is  emblematic  in  Russia  :  it  is 
a  poetical  land — poetical  as  sorrow !  What  are  more  eloquent 
than  the  tears  that  fall  internally  and  gather  upon  the  heart  ? 
The  crown  of  Siberia  is  found  among  the  rest.  It  is  an  imaginary 
insignia,  of  Russian  manufacture,  deposited  as  though  to  point 
out  a  grand  historical  achievement;  accomplished  by  commercial 
adventurers  and  soldiers  under  the  reign  of  Ivan  IV.,  an  epoch 
from  whence  dates,  not  exactly  the  discovery,  but  the  conquest 
of  Siberia.  All  these  crowns  are  covered  with  the  most  enor- 
mous and  the  most  costly  jewels  in  the  world.  The  bowels  of 
this  land  of  desolation  have  been  opened  to  furnish  a  food  for  the 
pride  of  that  despotism  of  which  it  is  the  asylum  ! 

The  throne  and  crown  of  Poland  helped  to  enrich  the  superb 
imperial  and  royal  galaxy.  So  many  jewels,  inclosed  in  so  small 
a  space,  blazed  in  iny  eyes  like  the  train  of  a  peacock.  What 
sanguinary  vanity  !  I  muttered  to  myself,  at  each  new  marvel 
before  which  my  guides  forced  me  to  stop. 

The  crowns  of  Peter  I.,  of  Catherine  L,  and  of  Elizabeth,  par- 
ticularly struck  me : — what  gold ! — what  diamonds  ! — and  what 
dust ! !  Imperial  orbs,  thrones,  and  sceptres — brought  together 


A    CONTRAST.  303 

to  attest  the  grandeur  of  things,  the  nothingness  of  men !  And 
when  we  think  that  this  nothingness  extends  even  to  empires,  we 
are  at  a  loss  to  which  of  the  branches  to  cling  that  hang  over  the 
torrent  of  time.  How  can  we  attach  ourselves  to  a  world  made 
up  of  the  forms  of  life,  but  where  no  forms  last  ?  If  God  had 
not  revealed  a  paradise,  it  would  be  found  by  souls  of  a  mould 
and  temper  strong  enough  to  fill  the  void  that  would  in  such  case 
exist  in  creation.  The  platonic  idea  of  an  unchangeable  and 
purely  spiritual  world — ideal  type  of  all  the  universe — is  equiva- 
lent in  my  eyes  to  the  existence  of  such  a  world.  How  can  we 
believe  that  God  is  less  fertile  in  conception,  less  rich,  less  power- 
ful, and  less  equitable  than  the  brain  of  man  ?  Can  our  imagina- 
tion surpass  the  works  of  the  Creator,  from  whom  that  imagination 
is  derived  ?  The  idea  implies  contradiction  and  impossibility.  It 
has  been  said  that  it  is  man  who  creates  God  in  his  image ;  yes, 
as  a  child  makes  war  with  wooden  soldiers ;  but  does  not  his 
game  furnish  a  proof  to  history?  Unless  Turenne,  Frederick  II., 
or  Napoleon  had  lived,  would  our  children  amuse  themselves  by 
imitating  battles  ? 

Vases  chased  in  the  style  of  Benvenuto  Cellini,  cups  enriched 
with  jewels,  arms  and  armour,  precious  stuffs,  rich  embroideries, 
costly  crystal  ware  of  all  lands  and  all  ages,  abound  in  this  won- 
derful collection,  of  which  a  real  curioso  would  not  complete  the 
inventory  in  a  week.  Besides  the  thrones  of  all  the  Russian 
princes  of  every  age,  I  was  shown  the  caparisons  of  their  horses, 
their  dress,  their  furniture ;  and  these  various  things  perfectly 
dazzled  my  eyes.  The  palace  in  the  Arabian  Nights  is  the  only 
picture  I  can  suggest  that  will  give  an  idea  of  this  marvellous,  if 
not  enchanted  abode.  But  here,  the  interest  of  history  adds  to 
the  effect  of  the  magnificence.  How  many  curious  events  are 
picturesquely  registered  and  attested  by  the  venerable  relics  ! 
From  the  finely-worked  helmet  of  Saint  Alexander  Newski,  to 
the  litter  which  carried  Charles  XII.  at  Pultowa,  each  object  re- 
calls an  interesting  recollection,  or  a  singular  fact.  The  Treasury 
is  the  true  album  of  the  giants  of  the  Kremlin. 

In  concluding  my  survey  of  these  proud  spoils  of  time,  I  re- 
collected, as  by  inspiration,  a  passage  from  Montaigne — without 
whose  works  I  never  travel — which  will  serve  to  complete,  by  a 
curious  contrast,  the  description  of  the  Muscovite  treasury  : — 

"  The  Duke  of  Muscovy  owed  anciently  this  homage  to  the 
Tartars :  when  they  sent  to  him  ambassadors,  he  came  to  meet 
them  on  foot,  and  presented  them  with  a  goblet  of  marc's  milk  (a 
beverage  which  they  esteem  as  the  greatest  luxury) ;  and  if,  in 


304  GRAND-DUKES    OF    MOSCOW. 

drinking,  any  drops  fell  on  the  mane  of  their  horses,  he  was 
bound  to  lick  them  up  with  his  tongue." 

The  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  with  all  his  thrones  and  all 
his  haughty  splendours,  is  no  other  than  the  successor  of  these 
self-same  grand-dukes  whom  we  see  thus  humiliated  in  the  six- 
teenth century ;  nor  has  his  family's  right  to  succeed  even  them, 
been  undisputed  :  for,  without  speaking  of  the  election  of  the 
Troubetzkoi,  annulled  by  the  intrigues  of  the  Romanoffs  and  their 
friends,  the  crimes  of  several  generations  of  princes  could  alone 
place  the  children  of  Catherine  II.  on  the  throne.  It  is  not, 
therefore,  without  motive  that  the  history  of  Russia  is  concealed 
from  the  Russians,  and  that  it  is  wished  to  be  concealed  from  the 
world.  Assuredly,  the  rigidity  of  political  principles  in  a  prince 
seated  upon  a  throne  thus  founded,  is  not  one  of  the  least  singu- 
lar features  in  the  history  of  our  times. 

At  the  epoch  when  the  grand-dukes  of  Moscow  wore  the  de- 
grading yoke  of  the  Mongols,  the  spirit  of  chivalry  flourished  in 
Europe,  especially  in  Spain,  where  blood  flowed  in  torrents  for 
the  honour  and  independence  of  Christianity.  I  do  not  believe, 
notwithstanding  the  barbarism  of  the  middle  ages,  a  single  mon- 
arch could  have  been  found  in  western  Europe  capable  of  dis- 
gracing monarchy,  by  consenting  to  reign  on  the  conditions  im- 
posed on  the  grand-dukes  of  Muscovy,  during  the  thirteenth, 
fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries,  by  their  Tartar  masters. 
Better  to  lose  the  crown  than  to  lower  the  majesty  of  royalty. 
Such  would  have  been  the  words  of  a  French  or  Spanish  prince, 
or  any  other  king  of  ancient  Europe.  But  in  Russia,  glory,  like 
every  thing  else,  is  of  recent  date. 

On  the  ground-floor  of  the  palace  of  the  Treasury,  I  was 
shown  the  state-coaches  of  the  emperors  and  empresses  of  Russia. 
The  old  coach  of  the  last  patriarch  is  also  included  in  the  collec- 
tion. Several  of  its  windows  are  of  horn.  It  is  not  among  the 
least  curious  of  the  relics  in  the  historical  repository  of  the 
Kremlin. 

I  was  afterwards  shown  the  little  palace,  which  the  Emperor 
inhabits  when  he  visits  the  fortress.  There  is  nothing  in  it 
worthy  of  notice,  unless  it  be  the  picture  of  the  last  election  of  a 
king  of  Poland.  That  extraordinary  Diet  which  placed  Ponia- 
towski  on  the  throne,  and  Poland  under  the  yoke,  has  been 
curiously  represented  by  a  French  painter,  whose  name  I  could 
not  learn. 

Other  wonders  awaited  me  elsewhere.  I  visited  the  Senate- 
house,  the  Imperial  palaces,  and  the  ancient  palace  of  the  patri- 


MOORISH    PALACE.  305 

arch,  which  possess  little  interest  beyond  their  names  ;  and,  finally, 
the  little  angular  palace,  which  is  a  gem  and  a  plaything.  It 
gives  the  idea  of  a  masterpiece  of  moresque  architecture,  conspic- 
uous by  its  elegance  in  the  midst  of  the  heavy  masses  which  sur- 
round it.  It  may  be  compared  to  a  carbuncle  set  in  common 
freestone.  The  structure  consists  of  several  stories,  each  one  less 
spacious  than  that  by  which  it  is  supported  :  this  multiplies  the 
terraces,  and  gives  to  the  edifice  a  pyramidal  form,  the  effect  of 
which  is  very  picturesque.  The  topmost  story  is  nothing  more  than 
a  little  pavilion.  Over  the  whole  building,  squares  of  Delft  ware, 
polished  after  the  manner  of  the  Saracens,  indicate  the  lines  of 
architecture  with  much  taste  and  precision.  The  interior  has  just 
been  refurnished,  glazed,  coloured,  and  generally  restored,  in  a 
manner  that  shows  good  taste. 

To  describe  the  contrast  produced  by  so  many  edifices  of  vari- 
ous styles,  crowded  together  in  one  spot,  which  forms  the  centre 
of  an  immense  city,  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  effect  produced  by 
the  congregation  of  Arabesque  palaces,  Gothic  forts,  Greek 
temples,  Indian  steeples,  Chinese  pavilions,  all  confusedly  mingled 
within  a  circle  of  Cyclopean  walls,  would  be  utterly  impossible. 
Words  cannot  paint  objects,  except  by  the  recollections  which 
they  recall ;  and  the  recollections  of  no  one  who  has  not  seen  the 
Kremlin  can  serve  to  picture  it. 

The  basement  of  the  little  Moorish  palace  is  almost  entirely 
occupied  by  one  enormous  vaulted  hall,  the  roof  of  which  is  sup- 
ported by  a  single  pillar,  rising  from  the  centre.  This  is  the  hall 
of  the  throne ;  the  emperors  repair  to  it  on  leaving  the  church, 
after  their  coronation.  Every  thing  here  revives  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  magnificence  of  the  ancient  Czars,  and  the  imagination 
goes  back  to  the  reigns  of  the  Ivans  and  the  Alexises.  The  ap- 
pearance is  truly  Muscovite.  The  entirely  new  paintings,  which 
cover  the  walls  of  this  palace,  struck  me  as  being  executed  with 
taste  ;  the  tout  ensemble  reminds  me  of  the  pictures  I  have  seen 
of  the  porcelain  tower  at  Pekin. 

The  group  of  these  varied  monuments  gives  to  the  Kremlin  an 
aspect  of  theatrical  decoration  that  is  seen  nowhere  else  in  the 
world  :  but  not  one  of  the  buildings  in  that  Russian  forum  will 
bear  a  separate  examination  any  better  than  those  •  dispersed 
throughout  the  rest  of  the  city.  At  the  first  view,  Moscow  pro- 
duces a  very  powerful  impression  :  to  a  bearer  of  despatches, 
travelling  quickly  past  its  walls,  it  would,  with  its  churches,  con- 
vents, palaces,  and  strong  castles,  any  one  of  which  might  be  taken 
for  the  abode  of  unearthly  beings,  appear  the  most  beautiful  of 
cities. 


306  DESECRATION    OK    THE    FOKIIIES*. 

Unfortunately,  they  are  now  building  in  the  Kremlin  a  new 
palace  for  the  Emperor.  Have  they  considered  whether  this  sa- 
crilegious improvement  will  not  spoil  the  general  aspect,  unique 
as  it  is  in  the  world,  of  the  ancient  edifices  of  the  holy  fortress  ? 
The  present  habitation  of  the  sovereign  is,  I  admit,  mean  in  ap- 
pearance ;  but,  to  remedy  the  inconvenience,  they  are  trenching 
upon  the  most  venerable  portions  of  the  old  national  sanctuary. 
This  is  profanation.  Were  I  the  Emperor,  I  would  rather  raise 
my  new  palace  in  the  air,  than  disturb  one  stone  of  the  old  ram- 
parts of  the  Kremlin. 

One  day  at  Petersburg,  in  speaking  to  me  of  these  works,  the 
monarch  said  that  they  would  beautify  Moscow.  I  doubt  it,  was 
the  answer  of  my  thoughts  :  you  talk  as  if  you  could  ornament 
history.  I  know  that  the  architecture  of  the  old  fortress  does  not 
conform  to  any  rules  of  art :  but  it  is  the  expression  of  the  man- 
ners, acts,  and  ideas  of  a  people  and  of  an  age  that  the  world  will 
never  sec  again ;  it  is,  therefore,  sacred  as  the  irrevocable  past. 
The  seal  of  a  power  superior  to  man  is  there  impressed — the 
power  of  time  But  in  Russia  authority  spares  nothing.  The 
Emperor,  who,  I  believe,  saw  in  my  face  an  expression  of  regret, 
left  me,  assuring  me  that  his  new  palace  would  be  much  larger  and 
better  adapted  to  the  wants  of  his  court  than  the  old  one.  Such 
a  reason  would  suffice  to  answer  any  objection  in  a  country  like 
this  in  which  I  travel. 

In  order  that  the  court  may  be  better  lodged,  they  are  going 
to  include  within  the  new  palace,  the  little  church  of  the  Saviour 
in  the  Garden.  That  venerable  sanctuary,  the  most  ancient,  I 
believe,  in  the  Kremlin  and  in  Moscow,  is  then  to  disappear  amid 
the  fine  white  walls,  with  which  they  will  surround  it,  to  the  great 
regret  of  all  lovers  of  antiquity  and  of  the  picturesque. 

What  more  provokes  me  is  the  mocker}^  of  respect  with  which 
the  profanation  is  to  be  committed.  They  boast  that  the  old 
monument  will  still  be  preserved ;  in  other  words,  it  will  not  be 
destroyed,  but  only  buried  alive  in  a  palace  !  Such  is  the  way  in 
which  they  here  conciliate  the  official  veneration  for  the  past  with 
the  passion  for  "  comfort,"  newly  imported  from  England.  This 
manner  of  beautifying  the  national  city  of  the  Russians  is  alto- 
gether worthy  of  Peter  the  Great.  Was  it  not  sufficient  that  the 
founder  of  the  new  city  should  abandon  the  old  one  ?  No  ! — 
his  successors  must  also  demolish  it,  under  the  pretext  of  im- 
provement. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  might  have  acquired  a  glory  of  his  own, 
instead  of  crawling  along  the  road  laid  out  by  another.  He  had 


KKSTOKATION  OF  THE  CAPITAL.  307 

only  to  leave  the  Petersburg  Winter  Palace  after  it  had  been 
burnt  for  him,  and  to  return  and  fix  his  Imperial  residence  in  the 
Kremlin  as  it  stands ;  building  for  the  wants  of  his  household 
and  for  the  great  fetes  of  the  court,  as  many  palaces,  beyond  the 
sacred  walls,  as  he  might  think  fit.  By  this  return  he  would  have 
repaired  the  fault  of  Peter  the  Great ;  who,  instead  of  dragging 
his  boyars  into  the  theatre  which  he  built  for  them  on  the  Baltic, 
ought  to  have  been  able  to  civilize  them  in  their  own  homes,  by 
availing  himself  of  the  admirable  elements  which  nature  had 
placed  within  their  reach  and  at  his  disposal — elements  which  he 
slighted  with  a  contempt  and  with  a  superficiality  of  mind  un- 
worthy of  a  superior  man,  as,  in  certain  respects,  he  was.  At  each 
step  that  the  stranger  takes  on  the  road  from  Petersburg  to  Mos- 
cow, Russia,  with  its  illimitable  territory,  its  immense  agricul- 
tural resources,  expands  and  enlarges  on  the  mind  in  a  measure 
equal  to  that  in  which  Peter  the  Great  diminished  and  contracted 
it.  Monomachus,  in  the  eleventh  century,  was  a  truly  Russian 
prince;  Peter  I.,  in  the  eighteenth,  was,  in  his  false  method  of 
improving,  nothing  more  than  a  tributary  of  foreigners,  an  imi- 
tator of  the  Dutch,  a  mimicker  of  civilization,  which  he  copied 
with  the  minuteness  of  a  savage. 

If  I  were  ever  to  see  the  throne  of  Russia  majestically  re- 
placed upon  its  true  basis,  in  the  centre  of  the  Empire,  at  Mos- 
cow;  if  St.  Petersburg,  its  stuccoes  and  gilt  work,  left  to  crumble 
in  the  marsh  whereon  it  is  reared,  were  to  become  only  what  it 
should  have  always  been,  a  simple  naval  port,  built  of  granite, 
a  magnificent  entrepot  of  commerce  between  Russia  and  the 
West,  as,  on  the  other  side,  Kazan  and  Nijni  serve  as  steps 
between  Russia  and  the  East ;  I  should  say  that  the  Sclavonian 
nation,  triumphing  by  a  just  pride  over  the  vanity  of  its  leaders, 
sees  at  length  its  proper  course,  and  deserves  to  attain  the  object 
of  its  ambition.  Constantinople  waits  for  it ;  there  arts  and 
riches  will  naturally  flow,  in  recompense  of  the  efforts  of  a  people, 
called  to  be  so  much  the  more  great  and  glorious  as  they  have 
been  long  obscure  and  resigned. 

Let  the  mind  picture  to  itself  the  grandeur  of  a  capital  seated 
in  the  centre  of  a  plain  many  thousands  of  leagues  in  extent — a 
plain  which  stretches  from  Persia  to  Lapland,  from  Astrachan 
and  the  Caspian  to  the  Uralian  Mountains  and  the  White  Sea 
with  its  port  of  Archangel ;  from  thence,  bordering  the  Baltic, 
where  stand  Petersburg  and  Kronstadt,  the  two  arsenals  of 
Moscow,  it  sweeps  to  the  Vistula  in  the  west,  and  from  thence 
again  to  the  Bosphorus,  where  conquest  awaits  the  coming  of  the 


308  DESECRATION    OF    THE    KREMLIN. 

Russians,  where  Constantinople  will  serve  as  another  portal  of 
communication  between  Moscow,  the  holy  city  of  the  Muscovites, 
and  the  world. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas,  notwithstanding  his  practical  sense 
and  his  profound  sagacity  has  not  discerned  the  best  means  of 
accomplishing  such  an  end.  He  comes  now  and  then  to  prome- 
nade in  the  Kremlin ;  but  this  is  not  sufficient.  He  ought  to 
have  recognized  it,  he  has  not  had  the  energy  to  make  the  sacri- 
fice : — this  is  his  error.  Under  Alexander,  the  Russians  burnt 
Moscow  to  save  the  Empire:  under  Nicholas,  God  burnt  the 
palace  of  Petersburg  to  advance  the  destinies  of  Russia ;  but 
Nicholas  does  not  answer  to  the  call  of  Providence.  Russia  still 
waits  ! — Instead  of  rooting  himself  like  a  cedar  in  the  only  fitting 
soil,  he  disturbs  and  upturns  that  soil  to  build  stables  and  a 
palace,  in  which  he  may  be  more  conveniently  lodged  during  his 
journeys ;  and  with  this  contemptible  object  in  view,  he  forgets 
that  every  stone  of  the  national  fortress  is,  or  ought  to  be,  an 
object  of  veneration  for  all  true  Muscovites.  It  is  not  wise  in 
him — a  sovereign  whose  authority  depends  upon  the  superstitious 
sentiments  of  his  people — to  shake,  by  a  sacrilege,  the  respect  of 
the  Muscovites  for  the  only  truly  national  monument  they  possess. 
The  Kremlin  is  the  work  of  Russian  genius ;  but  that  irregu- 
lar, picturesque  marvel,  is  at  length  condemned  to  pass  under 
the  yoke  of  modern  art :  it  is  the  taste  of  Catherine  II.,  which 
still  reigns  in  Russia. 

That  woman,  who,  notwithstanding  the  grasp  of  her  mind, 
knew  nothing  of  the  arts  or  of  poetry,  not  content  with  having 
covered  the  empire  with  shapeless  monuments  copied  from  the 
models  of  antiquity,  left  behind  her  a  plan  for  rendering  the  fa- 
c;ade  of  the  Kremlin  more  regular,  and  here  behold  her  grand- 
son, in  part  executing  the  monstrous  project:  flat  white  surfaces, 
stiff  lines,  and  right  angles  replace  the  recesses  and  projections, 
the  slopes  and  terraces,  where  lights  and  shadows  formerly  played ; 
where  the  eye  was  agreeably  bewildered,  and  the  imagination 
excited  by  external  staircases,  walls  encrusted  with  coloured  ara- 
besques, and  palaces  of  painted  Delft  ware.  Let  them  be  de- 
molished, let  them  be  concealed ; — are  they  not  going  to  be  re- 
placed by  smooth  white  walls,  well-squared  windows,  and  cere- 
monious portals  ?  No  !  Peter  the  Great  is  not  dead  :  the  Asi- 
atics whom  he  enrolled  and  drilled,  travellers,  and  imitators,  like 
him,  of  the  Europe  which,  while  continuing  to  copy,  they  affect 
to  disdain,  pursue  their  work  of  barbarism,  miscalled  civilization, 
deceived  by  the  maxims  of  a  master  who  adopted  uniformity  for 
his  motto,  and  the  uniform  for  his  standard. 


VIEW    FROM    THE    KREMLIN.  309 

There  are,  then,  neither  artists  nor  architects  in  Russia  :  all 
who  preserve  any  sentiment  of  the  beautiful  ought  to  throw 
themselves  at  the  feet  of  the  Emperor,  and  implore  him  to  spare 
his  Kremlin.  What  the  enemy  could  not  do,  the  Emperor  is 
accomplishing.  He  is  destroying  the  holy  ramparts  of  which 
the  miners  of  Buonaparte  could  scarcely  disturb  a  stone. 

And  I,  who  am  come  to  the  Kremlin  to  see  this  historical 
wonder  thus  spoiled,  dare  not  raise  one  cry  against  the  perpetra- 
tion of  the  impious  work — dare  not  make  one  appeal,  in  the  name 
of  history,  the  arts,  and  good  taste,  in  favour  of  those  old  monu- 
ments condemned  to  make  room  for  the  abortive  conceptions  of 
modern  architecture.  I  protest,  but  it  is  very  secretly,  against 
this  wrong  inflicted  upon  a  nation,  upon  history  and  good  taste ; 
and  if  a  few  of  the  most  intelligent  and  informed  of  the  men  I 
meet  here  dare  to  listen  to  me,  all  the  answer  that  they  venture 
to  give  is,  that  "  the  Emperor  wishes  his  new  residence  to  be 
more  convenient  than  the  old  one :  of  what,  then,  do  you  com- 
plain ?"  (convenient*  is  the  sacramental  word  of  Russian  despot- 
ism.) "  He  has  commanded  that  it  should  be  rebuilt  on  the  very 
spot,  even,  where  stood  the  palace  of  his  ancestors  :  he  will  have 
changed  nothing." 

I  am,  as  a  stranger,  prudent,  and  answer  nothing  to  such  rea- 
soning :  but  were  I  a  Russian,  I  would  defend,  stone  by  stone, 
the  ancient  walls  and  enchanted  towers  of  the  fortress  of  the 
Ivans  ;  I  would  almost  prefer  the  dungeon  under  the  Neva,  or 
exile,  to  the  shame  of  remaining  a  mute  accomplice  in  this  im- 
perial vandalism.  The  martyr  of  good  taste  might  yet  obtain  an 
honourable  place  below  the  martyr  of  faith  :  the  arts  are  a  reli- 
gion,— a  religion  which,  in  our  days,  is  not  the  least  powerful,  nor 
the  least  revered. 

The  view  obtained  from  the  height  of  the  terrace  of  the 
Kremlin  is  magnificent,  more  especially  at  the  evening  hour.  I 
shall  often  return  to  view  the  setting  sun.  from  the  foot  of  the 
steeple  of  John  the  Great,  the  loftiest,  I  believe,  in  Moscow. 

The  plantations,  with  which  for  some  years  past  the  fortress 
has  been  nearly  surrounded,  form  an  ornament  characterized  by 
much  good  taste.  They  beautify  the  modern  merchant-city,  and 
at  the  same  time  form  a  fringe  for  the  Alcazar  of  the  old  Rus- 
sians. The  trees  add  to  the  picturesque  effect  of  the  ancient 
ramparts.  There  are  vast  spaces  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls  of 
this  castle  of  romance,  where  are  seen  staircases,  the  boldness 

*  Convenable. 


310          RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE  FRENCH  ARMY. 

and  height  of  which  make  one  dizzy.  The  eye  of  fancy  may  dis- 
cern there  an  entire  population  of  the  dead,  descending  with  gen- 
tle steps,  wandering  over  the  platforms,  or  leaning  on  the  balus- 
trades of  the  old  towers  ;  from  whence  they  cast  upon  the  world 
the  cold,  disdainful  eye  of  death.  The  more  I  contemplate  these 
irregular  masses,  infinite  in  the  variety  of  their  forms,  the  more 
I  admire  the  Biblical  architecture  and  the  poetical  inhabitants. 

In  the  midst  of  the  promenade  which  surrounds  the  ramparts, 
there  is  an  archway  which  I  have  already  noticed,  but  which  con- 
tinues to  astonish  me  each  time  I  see  it.  You  leave  a  city,  the 
surface  of  which  is  very  uneven,  a  city  studded  with  towers  ris- 
ing to  the  clouds,  and  plunge  into  a  dark  covered  way,  in  which 
you  ascend  a  long,  steep  hill ;  on  arriving  at  its  summit,  you 
again  find  yourself  under  the  open  heaven,  and  look  down  upon 
another  part  of  the  city,  hitherto  unseen,  which  stretches  to  the 
border  of  a  river  half  dried  up  by  the  summer  heats  :  this  river 
is  the  Moskowa.  When  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  are  about  to 
withdraw,  the  water  in  its  bed  may  be  seen  colored  with  the  tint 
of  fire.  This  natural  mirror,  embosomed  amid  graceful  hills,  is 
very  striking.  Many  of  the  distant  buildings  on  those  hills,  es- 
pecially the  Hospital  for  Foundlings,  are  large  as  a  city  :  they 
consist  of  benevolent  institutions,  schools,  and  religious  founda- 
tions. The  Moskowa,  with  its  stone  bridge,  the  convents,  with 
their  innumerable  metal  domes,  which  represent  above  the  holy 
city  the  colossal  images  of  priests  unceasingly  at  prayer,  the  soft- 
ened peal  of  the  bells,  the  sound  of  which  is  peculiarly  harmoni- 
ous in  this  land,  the  gentle  murmur  and  motion  of  a  calm  yet 
numerous  crowd,  continually  animated  but  never  agitated  by  the 
silent  and  rapid  transit  of  horses  and  carriages,  the  number  of 
which  is  as  great  at  Moscow  as  at  Petersburg, — all  these  things 
will  give  an  idea  of  the  effect  of  a  setting  sun  in  this  ancient  cap- 
ital. Every  summer  evening  they  make  Moscow  unlike  any  other 
city  in  the  world  :  it  is  neither  Europe  nor  Asia ;  it  is  Russia — 
and  it  is  Russia's  heart. 

Beyond  the  undulations  of  the  city,  above  its  illumined  roofs 
and  gilded  dust,  may  be  seen  the  Bird  Mountain.  It  was  from 
the  summit  of  that  hill  that  our  soldiers  first  beheld  Moscow. 
What  a  recollection  for  a  Frenchman  ! 

In  surveying  with  the  eye  all  the  quarters  of  this  large  city, 
I  sought  in  vain  for  some  traces  of  the  fire  which  awoke  Europe 
and  dethroned  Buonaparte.  Conqueror  and  commander  when  he 
entered  Moscow,  he  left  the  holy  city  of  the  Russians  a  fugitive, 
thenceforward  condemned  to  mistrust  Fortune,  whose  inconstancy 
he  once  imagined  he  had  vanquished. 


ROSTOPCHIN.  311 

The  words  cited  by  the  Abbe  de  Pradt  fill  up,  it  appears  to 
me,  the  measure  of  cruelty  that  may  enter  into  the  inordinate 
ambition  of  a  soldier.  "  There  is  but  one  step  between  the  sub- 
lime and  the  ridiculous,"  cried  the  hero,  when  at  Warsaw,  and 
without  an  army  ?  And  why  did  he  say  this  ?  In  that  solemn 
moment,  when  he  thought  only  of  the  figure  that  he  was  going 
to  make  in  the  article  of  a  newspaper  !  The  corpses  of  the  men 
who  perished  for  him  were  surely  any  thing  but  ridiculous  !  The 
colossal  vanity  of  the  Emperor  Napoleon  could  only  be  struck  by 
the  jeers  with  which  some  might  hail  a  disaster,  that  will  never- 
theless make  the  nations  tremble  for  ages,  and  the  simple  recol- 
lection of  which  has,  for  thirty  years,  made  war  impossible  to 
Europe.  To  be  occupied  with  self  in  so  solemn  a  moment  was 
to  make  vanity  criminal.  The  sentence  quoted  by  the  Archbi- 
shop of  Malines  is  the  heart-cry  of  an  egotist,  who  for  one  hour 
was  master  of  the  world,  but  could  never  be  master  of  himself. 
That  trait  of  inhumanity,  displayed  at  such  a  moment,  will  be 
noted  by  history  when  it  shall  have  had  time  to  become  equi- 
table. 

I  could  have  wished  to  summon  before  me  the  imagery  and 
decoration  of  this  epic  scene,  this  most  astonishing  event  of  mo- 
dern times ;  but  all  here  strive  to  bury  great  and  stirring  deeds 
in  oblivion.  A  nation  of  slaves  dreads  its  own  heroism ;  the 
people  naturally  and  necessarily  discreet,  seek  only  for  the  shel- 
ter of  insignificance.  I  have  not  met  one  person  who  was  willing 
to  answer  my  questions  respecting  the  trait  of  patriotic  devotion 
that  is  most  glorious  in  the  history  of  Russia. 

In  speaking  to  strangers  of  that  event,  I  do  not  feel  my  na- 
tional pride  humiliated.  When  I  think  of  the  cost  at  which  this 
people  recovered  its  independence,  I  am  proud,  even  though  seat- 
ed on  the  ashes  of  our  soldiers.  The  defence  proves  the  daring 
of  the  attack  :  history  will  say  that  the  one  was  equally  great 
with  the  other ;  but,  as  her  truth  is  incorruptible,  she  will  add 
that  the  defence  was  the  most  just.  It  is  for  Napoleon  to  answer 
to  this.  France  was  at  that  time  in  the  hands  of  a  single  man  : 
she  acted,  but  she  no  longer  thought;  she  was  drunk  with  glory, 
as  the  Russians  are  with  obedience  :  it  is  those  who  think  for  an 
entire  people  who  are  responsible  for  events. 

Rostopchin,  after  having  passed  years  at  Paris,  where  he  had 
even  established  his  family,  took  a  fancy  to  return  to  his  own 
country.  But  dreading  the  patriotic  glory  which,  rightly  or 
wrongly,  attached  to  his  name,  he  caused  his  appearance  before 
the  Emperor  Alexander  to  be  preceded  by  a  pamphlet,  published 


312  CHARACTER  OF  NAPOLEON. 

purely  with  the  view  of  proving  that  the  fire  of  Moscow  was  acci- 
dental, and  not  the  result  of  a  concerted  plan.  Thus,  Rostopchin 
used  every  endeavour  to  clear  himself  in  Russia  from  the  heroism 
of  which  he  was  accused  by  Europe, — astonished  at  the  greatness, 
and,  after  his  pamphlet,  at  the  abject  position  of  this  man,  born 
to  serve  a  better  government.  Concealing  and  denying  his  glo- 
rious deed,  he  bitterly  complained  of  the  new  species  of  calumny 
by  which  they  endeavoured  to  make,  of  an  obscure  general,  a 
liberator  of  his  country  !  The  Emperor  Alexander,  on  his  part, 
never  ceased  to  repeat,  that  he  had  not  given  any  order  for  the 
burning  of  his  capital. 

This  contest  of  mediocrity  is  characteristic.  We  can  never 
cease  to  wonder  at  the  sublimity  of  the  drama,  when  we  think  of 
the  actors  by  whom  it  was  played.  Never  have  performers  given 
themselves  greater  trouble  to  persuade  the  spectators  that  they 
knew  nothing  of  their  parts. 

In  reading  Rostopchin,  I  took  him  at  his  word  ;  for  I  said 
to  myself — a  man  who  is  so  afraid  of  seeming  great,  cannot  be 
great.  In  a  case  like  this,  we  must  believe  people  literally  : 
false  modesty  is  sincere  in  spite  of  itself;  it  is  a  brevet  of  little- 
ness ;  for  men  really  superior  affect  nothing ;  they  do  justice  to 
themselves  in  their  own  minds  j  and  when  forced  to  speak  of 
themselves  openly,  they  do  so,  without  pride,  but  also  without 
pretended  humility.  It  is  long  since  I  read  the  singular  pam- 
phlet to  which  1  allude,  but  I  have  never  forgotten  it,  for  it  im- 
pressed me  at  the  time  with  the  spirit  of  the  Russian  government 
and  people. 

It  was  already  night  before  I  left  the  Kremlin.  The  colours 
of  the  enormous  edifices  of  Moscow,  and  of  the  distant  hills, 
were  softly  sobered ;  the  silence  of  night  descended  upon  the 
city.  The  windings  of  the  Moskowa  were  no  longer  traced  in 
brilliant  lines,  the  flames  of  western  day  were  extinguished  ;  but 
the  grandeur  of  the  spot,  and  all  the  memories  which  it  awoke, 
still  stirred  within  my  heart.  I  fancied  I  saw  the  shade  of  Ivan 
IV. — Ivan  the  Terrible — standing  upon  the  loftiest  tower  of  his 
deserted  palace,  and  aided  by  his  sister  and  his  friend,  Elizabeth 
of  England,  endeavouring  to  overwhelm  Napoleon  in  a  sea  of 
blood  !  These  phantoms  seem,  to  glory  in  the  fall  of  the  giant, 
who,  by  an  award  of  fate,  was  destined,  in  falling,  to  leave  his 
two  enemies  more  powerful  than  he  had  found  them. 

England  and  Russia  have  cause  to  return  thanks  to  Buona- 
parte— nor  do  they  refuse  to  do  so.  Such  was  not  for  France  the 
result  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  The  hatred  of  Europe  has 


CHARACTER  OF  NAPOLEON.  313 

survived  during  the  period  of  a  century  and  a  half,  the  death  of 
the  Great  King,  whilst  the  Great  Captain  has  been  deified  since 
his  fall :  and  even  his  gaolers  do  not  fear  to  unite  their  discord- 
ant voices  with  the  concert  of  praise  which  resounds  from  all 
parts  of  Europe, — an  historical  phenomenon,  which  I  think  stands 
alone  in  the  annals  of  the  world,  and  which  can  only  be  explained 
by  the  spirit  of  opposition  that  now  reigns  among  all  the  civilized 
nations.  The  reign,  however,  of  that  spirit  is  drawing  to  its 
close.  We  may,  therefore,  hope  soon  to  read  works  in  which 
Buonaparte  shall  be  estimated  by  his  own  intrinsic  merits  or  de- 
merits, and  without  malignant  allusions  to  the  reigning  *  power 
in  France  or  elsewhere. 

I  hope  to  see  the  day  in  which  this  man — as  wonderful  by  the 
passions  he  foments  after  death  as  by  the  actions  of  his  life — will 
be  fairly  judged.  Truth  has  but  yet  touched  the  pedestal  of 
his  statue,  hitherto  shielded  against  the  equitable  severity  of 
history  by  the  double  influence  of  unparalleled  successes  and 
misfortunes. 

At  any  rate  our  children  will  have  to  learn,  that  he  had  more 
grasp  of  mind  than  dignity  of  character,  and  that  he  was  greater 
by  his  talent  in  availing  himself  of  successes  than  by  his  con- 
stancy in  struggling  against  reverses.  Then,  but  not  till  then, 
will  the  terrible  consequences  of  his  political  immorality  and  his 
Machiavelian  government,  be  migitated. 

After  leaving  the  terraces  of  the  Kremlin,  I  returned  to  my 
rooms  with  a  feeling  of  exhaustion  similar  to  that  of  a  man  who 
has  been  just  witnessing  the  performance  of  some  horrible  trage- 
dy, or  rather  like  an  invalid  who  awakes  with  the  night-mare  in 
a  fever. 


CHAPTER   XXIV. 

Oriental  Aspect  of  Moscow.— Horace  Vernet. — Want  of  superior  Works  of  Art.— Russian 
Fickleness. — Silk  Manufactories.— Appearances  of  Liberty.— Railroads. — English  Club. — 
Russian  Piety.— The  Greco-Russian  Church. — Its  Sects,  and  their  Origin. — Polygamy. — 
Merchants  of  Moscow. — A  Russian  Fair. — Rural  Scenery  in  Moscow. — Drunkenness 
among  the  Russians. — Hidden  Poeiry.— Song  of  the  Don  Cossacks  —The  Music  of  North- 
ern Nations. — The  Coss:icka. — Their  Character. — Influence  under  which  they  fight. — Po- 
litical Subterfuges. — A  Polish  Fable. 

Moscow  lies  in  almost  the  only  mountainous  district  in  the  cen- 
tre of  Russia.     Not  that  this  word  is  to  suggest  the  idea  of 

*  Again  we  must  remind  the  reader  that  this  was  writteu  when  Louis 
Philippe  was  Kin^  of  the  French. — Trans. 
14 


314  ORIENTAL    ASPECT    OF    MOSCOW. 

Switzerland  or  Italy:  the  soil  is  full  of  inequalities,  and  that  is 
all.  But  the  contrast  presented  by  these  hills,  rising  in  the  mid- 
dle of  an  expanse,  where  both  the  eye  and  the  thoughts  lose 
themselves,  as  on  the  savannahs  of  America  or  the  steppes  of 
Asia,  produces  an  effect  that  is  very  striking.  Moscow  is  the 
city  of  panoramas.  With  its  commanding  sites  and  its  grotesque 
edifices,  which  might  serve  as  models  for  the  fantastic  composi- 
tions of  Martin,  it  recalls  the  idea  which  we  form,  without  know- 
ing why,  of  Persepolis,  Bagdad,  Babylon,  or  Palmyra, — romantic 
capitals  of  fabulous  lands,  whose  history  is  a  poem,  and  whose 
architecture  is  a  dream.  In  a  word,  at  Moscow,  we  forget  Eu- 
rope. This  was  what  I  did  not  know  in  France,  although  I  had 
read  nearly  all  the  travellers'  descriptions  of  the  city.  They 
have,  then,  failed  in  their  duty.  There  is  one  especially  whom 
I  cannot  pardon  for  not  having  permitted  others  to  enjoy  his 
visit  to  Russia.  No  descriptions  are  equal  to  the  sketches  of  a 
painter,  exact,  and,  at  the  same  time,  picturesque,  like  Horace 
Yernet  What  man  was  ever  more  gifted  to  perceive,  and  to 
make  others  perceive,  the  spirit  that  breathes  in  things  ?  The 
truth  of  painting  lies  not  so  much  in  the  form  as  in  the  expres- 
sion of  objects :  he  understood  them  like  a  poet,  and  transferred 
them  like  an  artist ;  consequently,  every  time  I  feel  the  insuffi- 
ciency of  my  words,  I  am  inclined  to  be  angry  with  Horace 
Vernet. 

Here,  every  view  is  a  landscape.  If  art  has  done  little  for 
Moscow,  the  caprice  of  the  builders  and  the  force  of  circumstances 
have  created  marvels.  The  extraordinary  forms  of  the  edifices, 
and  the  grandeur  of  the  masses,  strongly  impress  the  imagination. 
The  enjoyment,  it  must  be  owned,  is  of  an  inferior  order :  Mos- 
cow is  not  the  product  of  genius ;  connoisseurs  will  there  find  no 
monuments  of  art  worthy  of  a  minute  examination  :  those  monu- 
ments are  rather  the  strange  and  deserted  habitations  of  some 
race  of  giants ;  they  are  the  works  of  the  cyclopes.  In  a  city 
where  no  great  artist  has  left  the  impress  of  his  thoughts,  we  may 
feel  astonishment,  but  nothing  more,  and  astonishment  is  soon 
exhausted.  However,  there  is  nothing  here,  not  even  the  disen- 
chantment that  follows  the  first  surprise,  from  which  I  cannot 
draw  a  lesson :  more  particularly  am  I  struck  with  the  visible 
intimate  connection  between  the  aspect  of  the  city  and  the  cha- 
racter of  the  people.  The  Russians  love  all  that  dazzles ;  they 
are  easily  seduced  by  appearances :  to  excite  envy,  no  matter  at 
what  price,  constitutes  their  happiness.  The  English  are  gnawed 
by  pride,  the  Russians  are  corroded  with  vanity. 


RUSSIAN    FICKLENESS.  315 

I  feel  the  necessity  of  here  reminding  the  reader  that  gene- 
ralities always  pass  for  injustices.  Once  for  all,  I  would  state 
that  my  observations  never  exclude  exceptions ;  and  I  avail  my- 
self of  the  occasion  to  express  the  respect  and  admiration  I  enter- 
tain for  the  merits  and  agreeable  qualities  of  individuals  to  whom 
my  criticisms  do  not  apply. 

Other  travellers  have  observed  before  I  did,  that  the  less  we 
know  of  a  Russian  the  more  amiable  we  find  him.  The  Russians 
have  retorted  upon  those  travellers,  that  they  spoke  in  their  own 
disparagement,  and  that  the  coolness  of  which  they  complained 
only  proved  their  want  of  merit.  "  We  gave  you  a  good  recep- 
tion," they  add,  "  because  we  are  naturally  hospitable ;  and  if 
we  afterwards  changed  in  our  manner  towards  you,  it  was  because 
we  thought  more  highly  of  you  at  first  than  you  deserved." 
Such  an  answer  was  made  a  considerable  time  ago  to  a  French 
traveller,  an  able  writer,  but  whose  position  obliged  him  to  be 
excessively  reserved.  I  do  not  mean  here  to  cite  either  his  name 
or  his  book.  The  few  truths  which,  in  his  prudent  recitals,  he 
allowed  himself  to  expose,  placed  him  in  a  very  disagreeable  po- 
sition. This  was  the  penalty  for  denying  himself  the  free  exer- 
cise of  his  intellect,  in  order  to  submit  to  expectations  which  can 
never  be  satisfied  ;  not  any  more  by  flattering  them  than  by  doing 
them  justice.  It  would  cost  less  to  brave  them ;  and  on  this 
opinion  the  reader  will  perceive  I  act. 

Moscow  prides  herself  on  the  progress  of  her  manufactures. 
The  Russian  silks  here  contend  with  those  of  both  East  and 
West.  The  merchant-quarter,  the  Kitaigorod,  as  well  as  the 
street  called  the  Bridge  of  the  Marshals,  where  the  most  ele- 
gant shops  are  found,  are  reckoned  among  the  curiosities  of  the 
city.  If  I  mention  them  it  is  because  I  think  that  the  efforts  the 
Russians  are  making  to  free  themselves  from  the  tribute  which 
pay  to  the  industry  of  other  nations,  may  produce  impor- 
,A  political  consequences  in  Europe. 

"'he  liberty  that  reigns  in  Moscow  is  illusive;  yet  it  cannot 

•;  ied  that,  in  its  streets,  there  are  men  who  appear  to  move 

j ,  .,  ho  think  and  act  under  an  impulse  of  their  own. 

Moscow  is  in  this  respect  very  different  from  Petersburg.    Among 

the  causes  of  the  difference,  I  place  in  the  first  rank  the  vast 

extent  and   the  varied  surface  of  the  territory  in  the  midst  of 

which  it  stands.     Space  and  inequality  (I  here  take  this  word  in 

all  its  acceptations)  are  the  elements  of  liberty;  for  absolute 

equality  is  the  synonyme  of  tyranny,  though  it  is  the  minority 

who  may  be  placed  under  the  yoke  :  liberty  and  equality  exclude 


316  RAILROADS. 

each  other  by  the  operation  of  reserves  and  combinations,  more 
or  less  abstruse,  which  neutralize  the  effect  of  things  while  pre- 
serving their  names. 

Moscow  remains  almost  buried  in  the  midst  of  a  country  of 
which  it  is  the  capital :  hence  the  seal  of  originality  impressed 
upon  its  buildings,  the  air  of  liberty  which  distinguishes  its  in- 
habitants, and  the  little  inclination  of  the  Czars  for  a  residence 
of  which  the  aspect  is  so  independent.  The  Czars,  ancient  ty- 
rants mitigated  by  the  fashion  which  has  metamorphosed  them 
into  Emperors,  and  even  into  amiable  men,  fly  Moscow.  They 
prefer  Petersburg,  with  all  its  inconveniences,  for  they  wish  to 
be  in  continual  communication  with  the  West  of  Europe.  Rus- 
sia, as  formed  by  Peter  the  Great,  does  not  trust  to  herself  to 
live  and  to  learn.  At  Moscow,  they  could  not  obtain,  within  a 
week's  time,  the  little  importations  of  the  current  anecdotes  and 
small  gossip  of  Paris,  nor  the  ephemeral  literature  of  Europe. 
These  details,  contemptible  as  they  appear  to  us,  furnish  the 
chief  excitement  of  the  Russian  court,  and  consequently  of 
Russia. 

If  the  freezing  or  the  melting  snow  did  not  render  railroads 
useless  in  this  land  during  six  or  eight  months  of  the  year,  we 
should  see  the  Russian  government  surpass  all  others  in  the  con- 
struction of  those  roads,  which  are,  as  it  were,  lessening  the  size 
of  earth ;  for  that  government  suffers  more  than  any  other  from 
the  inconveniences  of  distance.  But,  notwithstanding  accelera- 
tion of  the  speed  of  travelling,  a  vast  extent  of  territory  will 
always  be  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  circulation  of  ideas :  for  the 
soil  will  not  allow  itself,  like  the  sea,  to  be  crossed  in  all  direc- 
tions. The  water,  which,  at  first  sight,  appears  destined  to  sep- 
arate the  inhabitants  of  the  world,  is  the  medium  which,  in  real- 
ity, unites  them.  Wonderful  problem !  Man,  the  prisoner  of 
G-od,  is  yet  allowed  to  be  the  king  of  nature. 

Certainly,  were  Moscow  a  sea-port,  or  the  centre  of  a  TJ 
network  of  those  metal  wheel-tracks,  those  electric  conductr 
human  thought,  destined  to  satisfy,  in  some  respects,  the     ..L 
tient  spirit  of  our  age,  we  should  not  see  what  I  saw  yesterday 
at  the  English  club-house — military  men,  and  fashionables  of  all 
ages,  serious  persons  and  giddy  youths,  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  and  remaining  silent  for  some  moments  before  sitting  down 
at  table — not  a  family-table,  but  a  table  d'hote.     Those  who  dis- 
claim all  religion  (and  there  is  here  a  considerable  number  of 
such)  viewed  the  others  without  any  surprise.     It  may  still  be 
seen  that  there  are  800  good  leagues  between  Paris  and  Moscow. 


ENGLISH    CLUB.  317 

The  palace  belonging  to  the  club  is  large  and  handsome. 
The  entire  establishment  is  well  planned  and  skilfully  directed  j 
every  thing  is  about  the  same  as  in  the  clubs  of  other  places. 
This  did  not  surprise  me ;  but  the  pious  feeling  of  the  Russians 
I  sincerely  admired,  and  said^as  much  to  the  person  who  had  in- 
troduced me. 

We  were  talking  together,  after  dinner,  in  the  garden  of  the  club. 

"  We  must  not  be  judged  by  appearances,"  replied  my  com- 
panion, who  is,  as  I  am  about  to  show,  one  of  the  most  enlight- 
ened of  the  Russians. 

"It  is  precisely  these  appearances,"  I  replied,  t: which  in- 
spire me  with  esteem  for  your  nation.  With  us,  people  dread 
only  hypocrisy ;  but  the  sneer  of  cynicism  is  even  yet  more  inju- 
rious to  society." 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  less  revolting  to  noble  minds." 

##*##*# 

"  But,  without  further  reference  to  general  considerations, 
give  me  an  idea  of  the  actual  state  of  religion  in  your  country ; 
tell  me,  how  are  the  minds  of  the  men  who  teach  the  Gospel  in 
Russia  cultivated  ?  " 

Although  I  addressed  a  man  of  superior  mind,  the  question 
would  have  been  an  indiscreet  one  at  Petersburg  :  at  Moscow  I 
felt  I  might  risk  it,  confiding  in  that  mysterious  liberty  that 
reigns  in  this  city,  though  we  can  neither  fully  account  for  nor 
define  it ;  and  though  the  confidence  which  it  inspires  may  some- 
times have  to  be  dearly  paid  for.*  The  following  is  the  sum- 
mary of  my  Russian  philosopher's  reply  :  I  use  the  word  philos- 
opher in  its  most  favourable  signification.  After  years  passed  in 
different  European  countries,  he  has  returned  to  Russia  very 
liberal,  but  very  consistent.  His  reply  then  was  as  follows  : — 

"  There  has  always  been  very  little  preaching  in  the  schisma- 
tic churches  ;  and  among  us,  the  political  and  religious  authority 
has  been  opposed  more  than  elsewhere  to  theological  discussions. 

^enever  there  has  been  a  wish  to  commence  the  debate  of  the 
aaestions  at  issue  between  Rome  and  Byzantium,  silence  has  been 
imposed  upon  both  parties.  The  points  in  dispute  are  of  so  little 
moment,  that  the  quarrel  can  only  be  perpetuated  by  means  of 
ignorance.  In  several  public  institutions  for  education  some 
religious  instruction  has  been  from  time  to  time  given,  but  this  is 
only  tolerated,  and  often  forbidden :  it  is  a  positive,  although  it 

*  The  reader  will  hereafter  see  the  danger  of  such  a  confidence  in- 
stanced by  the  arbitrary  detention  of  a  French  citizen. 


318  POLYGAMY. 

may  appear  to  you  an  incredible  fact,  that  religion  is  not  publicly 
taught  in  Russia.  The  result  is  a  multitude  of  sects,  of  which 
the  government  would  not  endure  that  you  should  suspect  the 
extstence. 

"  There  is  one  which  tolerates  polygamy ;  another  goes  farther, 
and  maintains  not  only  the  principle  but  the  practice  of  promis- 
cuous intercourse  between  the  sexes. 

"  Our  priests  are  forbidden  to  write  even  historical  scripture ; 
our  peasants  are  constantly  interpreting  passages  from  the  Bible, 
which,  taken  separately,  without  the  context,  and  falsely  applied, 
frequently  give  rise  to  some  new  heresy,  most  generally  Calvinis- 
tic  in  its  character.  Before  the  pope  of  the  village  discovers  it, 
it  has  already  gained  a  hold  among  the  inhabitants,  and  often 
spread  among  the  neighbouring  populations.  Should  the  priest 
then  treat  the  matter  publicly,  the  contaminated  peasants  are 
sent  to  Siberia,  which  ruins  the  lord  of  the  soil,  who  conse- 
quently, if  previously  aware  of  the  circumstance,  finds  more  than 
one  way  of  causing  the  pastor  to  preserve  a  silence :  so  that, 
when  at  last  the  heresy  does  break  out  and  attract  the  eyes  of 
the  supreme  authority,  the  number  of  seceders  is  so  considerable 
that  it  is  no  longer  possible  to  act  against  them.  Violence 
would  divulge  the  mischief  without  stifling  it ;  persuasion  would 
open  a  door  for  discussion — the  worst  of  all  evils  in  the  eyes  of 
an  absolute  government :  they  can  therefore  do  nothing  but  have 
recourse  to  silence,  under  whose  veil  the  evil  is  concealed,  without 
being  cured ;  on  the  contrary,  it  gradually  spreads. 

"It  is  by  religious  divisions  that  the  Russian  empire  will 
perish ;  therefore  to  envy  in  us,  as  you  do,  the  power  of  faith,  is 
to  judge  us  without  knowing  us." 

Such  is  the  opinion  of  the  most  clear-sighted  and  sincere  men 
whom  I  have  met  in  Russia. 

A  foreigner,  worthy  of  credence,  and  who  has  been  long  estab- 
lished in  Moscow,  has  likewise  informed  me  that  he  dined  some 
years  ago  with  a  merchant  of  Petersburg  and  his  three  wives — 
not  concubines,  but  legitimate  wives.  This  merchant  was  a  dis- 
senter, a  secret  sectarian  of  some  new  church.  I  presume  that 
the  children  borne  him  by  his  three  helpmates  would  not  be  re- 
cognized as  legitimate  by  the  state ;  but  his  conscience  as  a  Chris- 
tian remained  at  ease. 

If  I  had  learned  this  fact  from  a  native,  I  might  not  have  re- 
counted it ;  for  there  are  Russians  who  amuse  themselves  with 
lying,  in  order  to  perplex  and  lead  astray  too  curious  or  too  cre- 
dulous travellers ;  a  circumstance  which  serves  to  throw  obstacles 


DEVITSCHIEPOL.  319 

in  the  way  of  a  pursuit,  difficult  every  where,  for  those  who 
would  exercise  it  conscientiously,  but  doubly  so  here — I  mean 
the  pursuit  of  an  observer. 

The  body  of  merchants  is  very  powerful,  very  ancient,  and 
very  much  esteemed  in  Moscow.  The  life  of  these  rich  dealers 
reminds  us  of  the  condition  and  manners  of  the  Asiatic  merchants, 
so  well  painted  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  There  are  so  many 
points  of  resemblance  between  Moscow  and  Bagdad,  that  in  tra- 
velling through  Russia  we  lose  the  curiosity  to  see  Persia ;  we 
know  it  already. 

I  have  just  been  present  at  a  popular  fete,  held  round  the 
monastery  of  Devitschiepol.  The  actors  are  soldiers  and  peasants; 
the  spectators  people  of  the  higher  classes,  who  go  there  in  great 
numbers.  The  tents  and  booths  for  drinking  are  placed  close  to 
the  cemetery.  The  feast  or  fair  is  kept  in.  commemoration  of 
some  Russian  saint,  whose  relics  and  images  are  ceremoniously 
visited  between  two  libations  of  kwass.  This  evening  an  in- 
conceivable consumption  of  that  national  liquor  has  here  taken 
place. 

The  miraculous  Virgin  of  Smolensk — others  say  it  is  her  copy 
— is  preserved  in  this  convent,  which  contains  eight  churches. 

Towards  nightfall  I  entered  the  principal  one,  the  appearance 
of  which  is  imposing.  The  obscurity  aided  the  impression.  The 
nuns  undertake  the  charge  of  ornamenting  the  altars  of  their 
chapels ;  they  acquit  themselves  with  great  punctilio  of  this  duty 
— the  easiest  no  doubt  of  any  for  people  in  their  situation.  As  to 
the  more  difficult  duties,  they  are  not,  I  am  told,  particularly  well 
observed :  if  I  am  to  believe  the  best-informed  parties,  the  conduct 
of  the  religious  orders  in  Moscow  is  any  thing  but  edifying. 

The  church  contains  the  tombs  of  several  czarinas  and 
princesses ;  amongst  others,  that  of  the  ambitious  Sophia,  sister  of 
Peter  the  Great,  and  of  Eudoxia,  the  first  consort  of  the  same 
prince.  This  unhappy  woman,  repudiated  in,  I  believe,  1696,  was 
compelled  to  take  the  veil  at  Sousdal. 

The  Catholic  church  has  so  deep  a  respect  for  the  indissoluble 
tie  of  marriage,  that  it  does  not  permit  a  married  woman  to  unite 
herself  to  any  religious  order  unless  her  husband  does  the  same, 
or  takes,  like  her,  monastic  vows.  Such  is  the  rule,  though  with 
us,  as  with  others,  laws  are  often  made  to  bend  to  interests. 

The  Imperial  nun  died  at  Moscow,  in  this  monastery,  1731. 

In  general,  the  Russian  convents  have  rather  the  appearance  of 
a  cluster  of  small  houses,  of  a  walled  division  of  a  city,  than  of  a 
religious  retreat.  Being  often  destroyed  and  rebuilt,  they  have  a 


320  A    FETE. 

modern  look.  In  this  climate  nothing  long  resists  the  war  of  the 
elements.  The  whole  country  has  the  aspect  of  a  colony  founded 
but  yesterday.  The  Kremlin  alone  seems  destined  to  brave  the 
storms,  and  live  as  long  as  the  empire,  of  which  it  is  an  emblem 
and  the  bulwark.  The  idea  of  the  irrevocable  is  always  solemn. 

In  Moscow,  points  of  view  abound.  In  the  streets,  you  see  only 
the  houses  that  border  them.  But  cross  a  large  square,  open  a  win- 
dow, or  ascend  a  terrace,  and  you  immediately  discover  a  new  city 
spread  over  hills,  separated  by  vallies  of  wheat-fields,  large  pools, 
and  even  woods.  This  city  encloses  a  country  whose  undulations 
resemble  the  waves  of  the  sea.  The  sea,  viewed  from  afar,  has  al- 
ways the  appearance  of  a  plain,  however  agitated  its  surface  may  be. 

Moscow  is  the  city  for  painters  of  character  pieces;  but  archi- 
tects, sculptors,  and  historical  painters  have  nothing  to  do  there. 
Clusters  and  masses  of  edifices,  isolated  in  deserts,  present  multi- 
tudes of  striking  pictures.  This  ancient  capital  is  the  only  large 
city  which,  although  populous,  still  retains  all  the  picturesque 
attributes  of  the  country.  It  contains  as  many  open  roads  as 
streets,  as  many  cultivated  fields  as  hills  covered  with  buildings, 
as  many  deserted  valleys  as  public  squares.  After  leaving 
the  crowded  centre,  we  find  ourselves  among  lakes,  forests,  and 
villages,  rather  than  in  a  city.  Here  rises  a  stately  monastery, 
surrounded  by  its  multitudes  of  church- steeples ;  there,  stand 
hills,  built  upon  to  the  summit ;  others  again  bear  only  crops  of 
corn,  between  them  winds  a  stream  of  water ;  a  little  further  are 
isolated  edifices,  as  singular  as  varied  in  their  style ;  among  them 
are  theatres  with  antique  peristyles,  and  palaces  of  wood — the  only 
private  dwellings  that  display  a  national  architecture.  All  these 
varied  structures  are  half  concealed  by  verdant  foliage,  whilst  the 
entire  poetical  decoration  is  crowned  by  the  old  Kremlin,  with  its 
indented  walls  and  singular  towers.  That  Parthenon  of  the  Scla- 
vonians  commands  and  protects  Moscow ;  it  reminds  one  of  the 
Doge  of  Venice  seated  in  the  midst  of  his  senate. 

This  evening,  the  tents  where  the  holiday  folks  of  Devitschiepol 
were  congregated^  emitted  various  scents,  the  mixture  of  which 
produced  an  atmosphere  that  was  intolerable.  There  was  per- 
fumed Russian  leather,  spirituous  liquors,  sour  beer,  cabbages,  the 
grease  of  the  boots  of  Cossacks,  and  the  musk  and  ambergris  of 
numerous  fashionable  loiterers,  who  appeared  determined  to 
suffer  from  ennui,  were  it  only  out  of  aristocratic  pride.  I  found 
it  impossible  long  to  breathe  this  mephitic  air. 

The  greatest  pleasure  of  the  people  is  drunkenness  ;  in  other 
words,  forgetfulness.  Unfortunate  beings !  they  must  dream 


DRUNKENNESS    AMONG    THE    RUSSIANS.  321 

Russians,  when  the  moujiks  get  tipsy,  these  men,  brutalised  as 
they  are,  become  softened,  instead  of  infuriated.  Unlike  the 
drunkards  of  our  country,  who  quarrel  and  fight,  they  weep  and 
embrace  each  other.  Curious  and  interesting  nation !  it  would  be 
delightful  to  make  them  happy.  But  the  task  is  hard,  if  not  im- 
possible. Show  me  how  to  satisfy  the  vague  desires  of  a  giant, 
young,  idle,  ignorant,  ambitious,  and  so  shackled  that  he  can 
scarcely  stir  hand  or  foot.  Never  do  I  pity  this  people  without 
equally  pitying  the  all-powerful  man  who  is  their  governor. 

I  soon  left  the  taverns  to  walk  in  the  square,  where  the  pro- 
menaders  raised  clouds  of  dust.  The  summers  of  Athens  are 
long,  but  the  days  are  short,  and  owing  to  the  sea-breeze,  the  air 
is  scarcely  hotter  than  it  is  at  Moscow  during  the  short  northern 
heats.  The  insupportable  summer  of  this  year  is,  however,  now 
nearly  over;  the  nights  return,  and  winter  will  soon  follow. 
Beyond  the  fair,  the  view  of  the  distant  pine-forests  that  surround 
the  city  with  a  girdle  of  mourning,  the  slowly  decreasing  tints  of  a 
long  twilight,  all  tended  to  heighten  the  effect  of  the  monotonous 
landscape  of  the  north,  upon  the  face  of  which  poetry  is  written  in 
a  mystic  tongue — a  tongue  that  we  do  not  understand. 

In  treading  this  oppressed  earth  I  hear,  without  comprehend- 
ing them,  the  Lamentations  of  an  unknown  Jeremiah.  Despot- 
ism must  give  birth  to  prophets  ; — the  future  is  the  paradise  of 
slaves  and  the  hell  of  tyrants  !  A  few  notes  of  a  plaintive  song, 
oblique,  deceitful,  furtive  glances,  easily  interpret  to  me  the 
thoughts  that  spring  in  the  hearts  of  this  people:  but  youth, 
which,  little  valued  though  it  be,  is  more  favourable  to  study 
than  riper  age,  could  alone  teach  me  thoroughly  all  the  mysteries 
of  their  poetry  of  sorrow.  I  congratulate  myself  on  having  seen 
this  festival,  so  devoid  of  gaiety,  but,  likewise,  so  different  from 
those  of  other  lands.  The  Cossacks  were  to  be  seen  in  great 
^numbers  among  the  promenaders  and  the  drinkers  who  filled  the 
square.  They  formed  silent  groups  around  singers,  whose  pierc- 
ing voices  chaunted  forth  melancholy  words  set  to  a  softly  pleasing 
tune,  although  its  rhythm  was  strongly  marked.  The  air  was 
the  national  song  of  the  Don  Cossacks.  It  has  a  kind  of  resem- 
blance to  some  old  Spanish  melodies,  but  is  more  plaintive ;  it  is 
soft,  yet  penetrating  as  the  trill  of  the  nightingale  when  heard  at 
a  distance,  by  night,  in  the  depths  of  the  woods.  Now  and 
then  the  bystanders  repeated  in  chorus  the  last  words  of  the 
strophe. 

The  following  is  a  prosaic  translation,  verse  by  verse,  which 
a  Russian  has  just  made  for  me  : 
14* 


322  SONG  OF  THE  DON  COSSACKS. 


THE   YOUNG   COSSACK. 

They  shout  the  loud  alarm, 
My  war  steed  paws  the  ground  ; 

I  hear  him.  neigh, 

O,  let  me  go  1 

THE   MAIDEN. 

Let  others  rush  to  death  ; 

Too  young  and  gentle,  thou 

Shalt  yet  watch  o'er  our  cottage  home  ; 

Thou  must  not  pass  the  Don. 

THE  YOUNG  COSSACK. 

The  foe,  the  foe, — to  arms ! — 
I  go  to  fight  for  thee : 
If  gentle  here,  against  the  foe, 
Though  young,  1  still  am  brave. 

The  old  Cossack  would  blush  with  wrath  and  shame 

If  I  should  stay  behind. 

THE   MAIDEN. 


See  thy  mother  weeping, 
Behold  her  sinking  frame ; 
We  shall  be  victims  of  thy  rage, 
Ere  yet  the  foe  is  seen. 


THE    YOUNG    COSSACK. 


When  they  talk  of  the  campaign, 

They  would  call  me  a  poltroon: 

But  if  I  die,  and  comrades  praise  my  name, 

Thy  tears  shall  soon  be  dried. 


THE   MAIDEN. 


Never !  we'll  sleep  within  the  same  dark  tomb ; 
If  thou  must  die,  I  follow. 
Thou  goest !  but  still  together  we  shall  fall : 
Adieu !  my  tears  are  spent. 

The  sentiment  embodied  in  these  words  appears  modern,  but 
the  melody  has  a  charm  of  antiquity  and  simplicity,  which  would 
make  me  willing  to  pass  hours  in  listening  to  it,  as  repeated  by 
the  voices  of  the  natives. 

They  formerly  danced  in  Paris  a  Russian  dance,  which  this 
music  has  recalled  to  my  mind.  But,  when  heard  on  the  spot, 
national  melodies  produce  a  far  more  powerful  impression  than 
they  can  do  elsewhere.  There  is  more  melancholy  than  passion 
in  the  songs  of  the  Northern  people ;  but  the  impression  which 


CHARACTER    OF  323 

they  produce  is  never  forgotten,  whereas  a  more  lively  emotion 
soon  vanishes.  Melancholy  is  more  abiding  than  passion.  After 
having  listened  to  this  air  for  some  time,  I  found  it  less  monot- 
onous and  more  expressive, — such  is  the  ordinary  effect  of  simple 
music  ;  repetition  imparts  to  it  a  new  power.  The  Uralian  Cos- 
sacks have  also  a  song  peculiar  to  themselves,  which  I  regret  not 
having  heard. 

This  race  of  men  deserves  a  separate  study,  but  it  could  not 
be  easily  prosecuted  by  a  stranger,  hurried  as  I  am.  The  Cos- 
sacks form  a  military  family,  a  subdued  horde,  rather  than  a  body 
of  troops  subjected  to  discipline.  Attached  to  their  chiefs  as  a 
dog  is  to  his  master,  they  obey  orders  with  more  affection  and 
less  servility,  than  the  other  Russian  soldiers.  In  a  land  where 
nothing  is  defined,  they  view  themselves  as  allies  rather  than  as 
slaves  of  the  Imperial  government.  Their  activity,  their  wander- 
ing habits,  the  speed  and  spirit  of  their  horses,  the  co-operative 
patience  and  address  of  man  and  beast,  their  mutual  endurance 
of  fatigue  and  hardship,  constitute,  in  themselves,  an  immense 
power.  It  is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  geographical  instinct 
which  aids  these  savage  guides  of  the  army  to  lead  the  way,  with- 
out reference  to  roads,  in  the  countries  they  invade,  whether  they 
be  the  wildest  and  most  sterile  deserts,  or  the  most  populous 
and  civilised  lands.  In  war,  does  not  the  very  name  of  Cossack 
spread  terror  among  the  enemy  ?  The  generals  who  know  how  to 
make  use  of  such  a  light  cavalry,  have  a  means  of  action  at  their 
disposal  which  the  commanders  of  the  most  civilised  armies  can- 
not obtain. 

The  Cossacks  are  said  to  be  naturally  amiable.  They  have 
more  gentleness  and  sensibility  than  could  be  fairly  expected  in 
so  rude  a  community ;  but  their  excessive  ignorance  is  lamentable 
in  its  effects,  both  on  themselves  and  their  masters. 

When  I  think  of  the  way  in  which  their  officers  avail  them- 
selves of  the  credulity  of  the  soldier,  every  higher  feeling  of  my 
mind  rises  indignantly  against  a  government  which  can  descend 
to  such  subterfuges,  or  which  doe«  not  punish  such  of  its  servants 
as  dare  to  have  recourse  to  them. 

I  have  it  from  good  authority,  that  many  of  the  Cossack 
chiefs  led  their  men  away  from  their  country  during  the  war  of 
1814  and  1815,  saying  to  them:  "Kill  your  enemies;  strike 
without  fear.  If  you  fall  in  combat,  you  will,  within  three  days, 
be  with  your  wives  and  children ;  you  will  rise  again,  both  in 
flesh  and  bone,  body  and  soul.  What  then  have  you  to  fear  ?  " 

Men  accustomed  to  recognise  the  voice  of  God  the  Father  in 


324  THE    COSSACKS. 

that  of  their  officers,  embraced  literally  the  promises  made  to 
them,  and  fought  with  that  courage  with  which  we  are  acquainted, 
— namely,  they  fled  like  marauders  whenever  they  could  escape 
from  danger,  and  faced  death  like  soldiers  whenever  it  was  inevit- 
able. To  excite  soldiers  by  legitimate  means  to  brave  death  is 
the  duty  of  a  commander  ;  but  to  lead  them  to  death  by  deceiv- 
ing them,  and  by  concealing  it  from  them,  is  to  take  all  virtue 
from  their  courage,  all  moral  dignity  from  their  devotion.  If 
war  excuses  every  thing,  as  certain  people  pretend,  what  shall 
excuse  war  ? 

Is  it  possible  to  picture  to  ourselves{  without  horror  and  dis- 
gust, the  moral  state  of  a  nation  whose  armies  are  thus  directed  ? 
This  trait  has  happened  to  come  to  my  knowledge ;  but  how  many 
similar  or  worse  must  remain  unknown  !  When  once  people  have 
recourse  to  puerile  subterfuges  to  govern  their  fellow  men, 
where  are  they  to  stop  ?  I  will  conclude  with  a  fable,  which  ap- 
pears as  if  made  expressly  to  justify  my  indignation.  The  idea 
is  that  of  a  Polish  bishop,  famous  for  his  wit,  under  the  reign  of 
Frederick  II. :  The  imitation  in  French  is  by  Count  Ekear  de 
Sabran.* 


L'ATTELAGE.— FABLE. 

Tin  habile  cocher  menait  un  Equipage, 

Aveo  quatre  chevaux  par  couples  attele"s, 

Apres  les  avoir  muscles, 

En  les  guidant,  il  leur  tint  ee  langage 

Ne  vous  laisser  pas  devancer, 

Disait  il  a  ceux  de  derriere  : 

Ne  vous  laisser  pas  depasser, 

Ni  meme  atteindre  en  si  belle  carriere, 

Disait-il  a  ceux  de  devant, 

Qui  1'eeoutaient  le  nez  au  vent : 

Un  passant  dans  cette  occurrence, 

Lui  dit  alors  a  ce  propos: 

Vous  trompez  ces  pauvres  chevaux, 

II  est  vrai,  reprit  il,  mais  la  voiture  avance. 

*  Uncle  of  the  author. — Trans. 


THE    TARTAR    MOSQUE.  325 

CHAPTER   XXV. 

The  Tartar  Mosque.— The  Descendants  of  the  Monsols  in  Moscow.— Tower  of  Soukareff.— 
Colossal  Reservoir.— Byzantine  Architecture,— Public  Institutions. — The  Emperor  every- 
where.— Dissimilarity  in  the  Sclavonian  and  German  Characters. — The  Noblemen's 
Club.— Polite  Education  of  the  Russians.— Habits  of  the  Higher  Classes  —A  Russian 
Coffee-house.— Religious  Belief  of  the  Old  Serfs.— Society  in  Moscow.— A  Country  House 
in  a  City. — Real  Politeness.— Review  of  Russian  Character. — Want,  of  Generosity.— Con- 
tempt for  the  Law  of  Kindness.— Seductive  Manners  ot  the  Russians. —  Their  Fickleness. 
—Resemblance  of  the  Poles  and  Russians. — Libertinism  in  Moscow.— Moral  Consequen- 
ces of  Despotism. — Observations  on  Modern  Literature. — Drunkenness  a  Vice  of  the  High- 
est. Classes.— Russian  Curiosity.— Portrait  of  Prince  and  his  Companions.— Murder 

in  a  Nunnery. —Conversation  at  a  Table  d'hote.— The  Lovelace  of  the  Kremlin.— A  bur- 
lesque Petition.— Modern  Prudery. — Parting  Scene  with  Prince . — An  elegant  Coach- 
man.—Morals  of  the  Citizens'  Wives. — Libertinism  the  Fruit  of  Despotism. — Moral  Li- 
cence in  iieu  of  Political  Freedom.— Condition  of  the  Serfs  and  other  Classes.— Nature  of 
Russian  Ambition.— Results  of  the  System  of  Peter  the  Great. — The  true  Power  of  Russia. — 
Danger  of  Truth.— Songs  of  the  Russian  Gypsies.— The  Theatre  in  Russia.— French  Lan- 
guage in  Russia  understood  superficially. — A  Russian  in  his  Library. — The  Tarandasse. — 
Russian  Ideas  of  Distance.— A  noble  Trait  in  Russian  Character, 

DURING  the  last  two  days  I  have  seen  many  sights ;  among 
others,  the  Tartar  Mosque.  The  religion  of  the  conquerors  is 
now  tolerated  in  a  corner  of  the  capital  of  the  vanquished ;  and 
this,  only  on  condition  that  the  Christians  have  free  permission  to 
enter  the  Mohammedan  sanctuary. 

The  mosque  is  a  small  and  mean  edifice,  and  the  men  there 
allowed  to  worship  God  and  the  prophet,  have  a  wretched,  timid, 
dirty,  and  poverty-stricken  appearance.  They  come  to  prostrate 
themselves  in  this  temple  every  Friday,  upon  a  filthy  piece  of 
woollen  mat,  which  each  carries  with  him.  Their  graceful  Asiatic 
garments  are  become  rags ;  their  own  condition  is  abject :  they 
live  as  much  apart  as  possible  from  the  population  which  surrounds 
them.  In  seeing  these  beggars  in  appearance,  creeping  in  the 
midst  of  actual  Russia,  it  is  difficult  to  realise  the  idea  of  the 
tyranny  which  their  fathers  exercised  over  the  Muscovites. 

The  unfortunate  sons  of  conquerors  trade  at  Moscow  in  the 
provisions  and  the  merchandise  of  Asia,  and  adhere  as  much  as 
possible  to  the  practice  of  their  religion,  avoiding  the  use  of 
wines  and  strong  liquors,  and  shutting  up  their  women,  or  at 
least  veiling  them,  in  order  to  shield  them  from  the  eyes  of  other 
men ;  a  precaution  which  is,  however,  little  needed,  for  the  Mon- 
gol race  present  but  few  attractions.  High  cheek  bones,  flat 
noses,  small  sunken  black  eyes,  frizzled  hair,  a  brown  and  oily 
skin,  a  low  stature,  an  appearance  of  filth  and  squalor, — such  were 
the  characteristics  which  I  remarked  in  the  men  of  this  degen- 
erate race,  and  in  the  small  number  of  women  of  whose  features 
I  could  obtain  a  glimpse. 

May  it  not  be  said  that  Divine  justice,  so  incomprehensible 
when  viewed  in  the  fate  of  individuals,  becomes  brightly  visible 


326  MONGOLS    IN    RUSSIA. 

Vhen  mirrored  in  the  destiny  of  nations  ?  The  life  of  every  man 
is  a  drama,  played  upon  one  theatre,  but  the  plot  of  which  will  be 
unravelled  on  the  boards  of  another.  It  is  not  thus  with  the  life 
of  nations  :  their  instructive  tragedy  begins  and  ends  upon  earth : 
and  it  is  this  which  makes  history  a  sacred  scripture  :  history  is 
the  justification  of  Providence. 

Saint  Paul  has  said,  "  Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the  higher 
powers  :  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained  of  God."  The  church, 
with  him,  called  men  from  a  state  of  isolation  nearly  two  thou- 
sand years  ago,  by  baptising  them  citizens  of  an  eternal  commu- 
nity, a  society  of  which  all  others  are  but  imperfect  representa- 
tions. These  truths  are  not  falsified ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are 
confirmed  by  experience.  The  more  deeply  we  study  the  charac- 
ter of  the  different  nations  who  share  the  earth,  the  more  clearly 
do  we  recognise  that  their  fate  is  the  consequence  of  their  reli- 
gion. The  religious  is  essential  to  the  duration  of  society :  men 
need  a  belief  in  the  supernatural,  in  order  to  raise  themselves 
from  that  pretended  state  of  nature  which  is  a  state  of  violence 
and  iniquity;  and  the  miseries  of  oppressed  races  are  no  more 
than  the  punishment  of  their  voluntary  errors  in  matters  of  faith. 
Such  is  the  belief  which  my  numerous  pilgrimages  have  instilled 
into  me.  Every  traveller  is  obliged  to  become  a  philosopher,  and 
more  than  a  philosopher ;  for  it  is  necessary  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian to  contemplate  without  shocked  senses  the  condition  of  the 
various  races  dispersed  upon  the  globe,  and  to  meditate  without 
despair  upon  the  dealings  of  God, — mysterious  causes  of  the 
vicissitudes  of  man. 

I  am  recording  reflections  made  in  the  mosque  during  the 
prayer  of  the  children  of  Bati,  now  become  pariahs  among  those 
they  enslaved.  The  present  condition  of  a  Tartar  in  Russia  is 
inferior  to  that  of  a  Muscovite  serf. 

The  Russians  take  credit  for  the  tolerance  which  they  accord 
to  the  faith  of  their  ancient  tyrants.  I  find  such  tolerance  more 
ostentatious  than  philosophical :  and,  for  the  people  to  whom  it  is 
extended,  it  is  but  one  humiliation  more.  Were  I  in  the  place 
of  the  descendants  of  those  implacable  Mongols,  who  were  so 
long  masters  of  Russia  and  the  terror  of  the  world,  I  would  pre- 
fer praying  to  God  in  the  secert  of  my  heart,  rather  than  in  the 
shadow  of  a  mosque  accorded  by  the  pity  of  my  ancient  tribu- 
taries. 

When  I  wander  over  Moscow  without  aim  and  without  guide, 
I  never  weary.  Each  street,  each  outlet,  affords  the  view  of  a 
fresh  city ;  a  city  which,  studded  with  its  embroidered,  pierced, 


PUBLIC    INSTITUTIONS.  327 

and  battlemented  walls,  broken  with  towers,  and  supporting  mul- 
titudes of  turrets  and  watch-towers,  appears  as  though  built  by 
the  genii.  Then  there  is  the  Kremlin,  poetical  in  its  aspect,  his- 
torical by  its  name,  the  root  of  an  empire,  the  heart  of  a  city,  and 
which  for  me  is  all  Moscow.  I  return  there  with  an  ever-new 
attraction ;  but  it  is  necessary  carefully  to  avoid  examining  in 
detail  the  incoherent  masses  of  monuments  with  which  this  walled 
mountain  is  encumbered.  The  exquisite  sense  of  art,  the  talent, 
that  is,  of  finding  the  one  only  perfectly  just  expression  of  an 
original  conception,  is  unknown  to  the  Russians ;  nevertheless, 
when  giants  copy,  their  imitations  always  possess  a  kind  of  beauty; 
the  works  of  genius  are  grand,  the  works  of  physical  power  are 
great :  and  this  alone  is  something. 

To  divert  my  mind  for  a  moment  from  the  terrific  Kremlin, 
I  have  paid  a  visit  to  the  tower  of  Soukareff,  built  on  an  eminence 
near  to  one  of  the  entrances  of  the  city.  The  first  story  is  a  vast 
structure,  containing  an  immense  reservoir,  from  whence  nearly 
all  the  water  drunk  in  Moscow  is  distributed  to  the  different  parts 
of  the  city.  The  view  of  this  walled  lake,  reared  high  in  air, 
produces  a  singular  impression.  The  architecture  is  heavy  and 
gloomy ;  but  the  Byzantine  arcades,  the  massy  flights  of  steps, 
and  the  ornaments  in  the  style  of  the  Lower  Empire,  make  the 
whole  very  imposing.  This  style  is  perpetuated  in  Moscow :  had 
it  been  applied  with  discernment,  it  would  have  given  birth  to  the 
only  national  architecture  possible  to  the  Russians :  though  in- 
vented in  a  temperate  climate,  it  equally  accords  with  the  wants 
of  northern  people  and  the  habits  of  the  south.  The  interiors  of 
Byzantine  edifices  are  very  similar  to  ornamented  cellars  ;  the 
solidity  of  the  massive  vaults,  and  the  obscurity  of  the  walls,  offer 
a  shelter  from  the  cold  as  well  as  from  the  sun. 

L  have  also  been  shown  the  University,  the  School  of  Cadets, 
the  Institutions  of  St.  Catherine  and  of  St.  Alexander,  the  Hos- 
pitals for  Widows  and  for  Foundlings,  all  vast  and  pompous  in 
appearance.  The  Russians  pride  themselves  in  having  so  great 
a  number  of  magnificent  public  establishments  to  show  to  stran- 
gers :  for  my  part,  I  should  be  content  with  less  of  this  kind  of 
splendour  ;  for  no  places  are  more  tedious  to  wander  over  than 
these  white  and  sumptuously-monotonous  palaces,  where  every 
thing  is  conducted  in  military  order,  and  where  human  life  seems 
reduced  to  the  action  of  the  pendulum  of  a  clock. 

The  reader  must  learn  from  others  all  that  is  to  be  seen  in 
these  useful  and  superb  nurseries  of  officers,  mothers  of  families, 
and  governesses  :  it  will  suffice  for  me  to  say,  that  the  institutions, 


328  THE    EMPEROR    EVERY  WHERE. 

half  political,  half  charitable,  appear  models  of  good  order,  care, 
and  cleanliness, — a  fact  which  does  honour  to  the  heads  of  the 
different  schools,  as  well  as  the  supreme  head  of  the  empire. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  single  moment  to  forget  that  one  indi- 
vidual by  whom  Russia  lives,  thinks,  and  acts, — that  man,  alike 
the  science  and  the  conscience  of  his  people,  who  commands,  mea- 
sures, and  distributes,  all  that  is  necessary  or  permitted  to  other 
men,  none  of  whom  may  think,  feel,  will,  or  imagine,  except  with- 
in the  sphere  marked  out  by  the  supreme  wisdom  which  foresees, 
or  is  supposed  to  foresee,  all  the  wants  of  the  individual  as  well 
as  of  the  State. 

Among  us,  there  is  the  fatigue  of  licence  and  variety ;  here, 
we  are  discouraged  by  uniformity  frozen  over  by  pedantry,  which 
yet  we  may  not  separate  from  the  idea  of  order ;  whence  it  fol- 
lows, that  we  hate  what  we  ought  to  love.  Russia,  that  infant 
nation,  is  nothing  more  than  an  immense  college ;  every  thing  is 
conducted  there  as  in  a  military  school,  the  only  difference  being, 
that  the  scholars  never  leave  it  until  they  die. 

All  that  is  German  in  the  spirit  of  the  Russian  government 
is  antipathetic  to  the  Sclavonian  character.  The  latter  Oriental, 
nonchalant,  capricious,  and  poetical  people,  if  they  said  what  they 
thought,  would  bitterly  complain  of  the  Germanic  discipline  im- 
posed upon  them  since  the  times  of  Alexis,  Peter  the  Great,  and 
Catherine  II.,  by  a  race  of  foreign  princes.  The  Imperial  Fam- 
ily, let  it  do  its  best,  will  be  always  too  Teutonic  to  govern  the 
Russians  without  violence,  and  to  feel  as  one  with  them.*  The 
peasants  alone  are  deceived. 

I  have  carried  the  sight-seeing  duties  of  the  traveller  so  far 
as  to  allow  myself  to  be  taken  to  a  riding-school,  the  largest,  I 
believe,  which  exists.  The  ceiling  is  supported  by  light  and  bold 
iron  arches.  The  whole  edifice  is  wonderful  in  its  kind. 

The  club  of  the  nobles  is  closed  during  the  present  season. 
I  visited  it  also  as  a  matter  of  conscience.  In  the  principal  hall 
is  a  statue  of  Catherine  II.  This  hall  is  ornamented  with  pillars 
and  a  semi-rotunda ;  it  will  contain  about  3000  persons ;  and. 
during  the  winter,  magnificent  balls  are  given  in  it.  I  can  well 
believe  this,  for  the  Russian  nobles  reserve  all  their  luxury  for 
pleasures  of  parade.  To  dazzle  is,  with  them,  to  display  civili- 


*  The  Romanoffs  were  originally  Prussians ;  and,  since  the  election 
that  placed  them  on  the  throne,  they  have  usually  intermarried  with  Ger- 
man princesses,  contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  ancient  Muscovite  sove- 
reigns. 


A    RUSSIAN    COFFEE-HOUSE.  329 

zation.  It  is  but  little  more  than  one  hundred  years  since  Peter 
the  Great  dictated  to  them  the  first  laws  of  politeness,  and  insti- 
tuted assemblies  similar  to  those  of  old  Europe  ;  obliging  the  men 
to  admit  the  other  sex  into  these  circles,  and  exhorting  them  to 
take  off  their  hats  when  they  entered  an  apartment.  While  thus 
teaching  them  common  civility,  he  was  himself  exercising  the 
vilest  of  all  professions — that  of  the  headsman.  He  has  been 
seen  in  a  single  evening  to  strike  off  twenty  heads  with  his  own 
hand,  and  has  been  heard  to  boast  of  his  address.  Such  was  the 
education,  and  such  the  example,  given  to  the  Russians  by  this 
worthy  heir  of  the  Ivans, — this  prince,  whom  they  have  made 
their  God,  and  whom  they  view  as  the  eternal  model  of  a  Russian 
sovereign  ! 

The  new  converts  to  civilisation  have  not  yet  lost  their  taste, 
as  upstarts,  for  every  thing  that  dazzles,  every  thing  that  attracts 
the  eye,  Children  and  savages  always  love  these  things.  The 
Russians  are  children  who  have  the  habit,  but  not  the  experience 
of  misfortune  ;  hence  the  mixture  of  levity  arid  causticity  which 
characterises  them.  The  enjoyments  of  a  calm  and  equable  life, 
adapted  solely  to  satisfy  the  affections  of  intimacy,  to  administer 
to  the  pleasures  of  conversation  and  of  mind,  would  never  long 
suffice  them  :  not  that  these  great  lords  show  themselves  alto- 
gether insensible  to  refined  pleasures ;  but,  to  captivate  the 
haughty  frivolity  of  such  disguised  satraps,  to  fix  their  vagrant 
imaginations,  lively  excitements  are  necessary.  The  love  of  play, 
intemperance,  libertinism,  and  the  gratifications  of  vanity,  can 
scarcely  fill  the  void  in  their  satiated  hearts  :  the  creation  of  God 
does  not  furnish  these  unhappy  victims  of  wealth  and  indolence 
with  any  means  to  get  through  their  weary  days.  In  their  proud 
misery,  they  summon  to  their  aid  the  spirit  of  destruction.  All 
modern  Europe  is  the  prey  of  ennui.  It  is  this  which  attests  the 
nature  of  the  life  led  by  the  youth  of  the  present  day  :  but  Rus- 
sia suffers  from  the  evil  worse  than  the  other  communities  ;  for 
here  every  thing  is  excessive.  To  describe  the  ravages  of  society 
in  a  population  like  that  of  Moscow  would  be  difficult :  nowhere 
have  the  mental  maladies  engendered  in  the  soul  by  ennui — that 
passion  of  men  who  have  no  passions — appeared  to  me  so  serious 
or  so  frequent  as  among  the  higher  classes  in  Russia :  it  may  be 
said  that  society  has  here  commenced  by  its  abuses.  When  vice 
does  not  suffice  to  enable  the  human  heart  to  shake  off  the  ennui 
that  preys  upon  it,  that  heart  proceeds  to  crime. 

The  interior  of  a  Russian  coffee-house  is  very  curious.  It 
consists  generally  of  a  large,  low  apartment,  badly  lighted,  and 


330  SOCIETY    IN    MOSCOW. 

usually  occupying  the  first  floor  of  the  house.  The  waiters  are 
dressed  in  white  shirts,  girded  round  the  middle,  and  falling  like 
a  tunic  over  loose  white  pantaloons.  Their  hair  is  long  and 
smooth,  like  that  of  all  the  lower  orders  of  Russians ;  and  their 
whole  adjustment  reminds  one  of  the  theophilanthropists  of  the 
French  republic,  or  the  priests  of  the  Opera  when  paganism  was 
the  fashion  at  the  theatre.  They  serve  you  with  excellent  tea, 
superior,  indeed,  to  any  found  in  other  lands,  with  coffee  and 
liqueurs  :  but  this  is  done  with  a  silence  and  solemnity  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  noisy  gaiety  which  reigns  in  the  cafes  of  Paris. 
In  Russia  all  popular  pleasures  are  melancholy  in  their  character  : 
mirth  is  viewed  as  a  privilege ;  consequently,  I  always  find  it 
assumed,  affected,  overdone,  and  worse  than  the  natural  sadness. 
Here,  the  man  who  laughs  is  either  an  actor,  a  drunkard,  or  a 
flatterer. 

This  reminds  me  of  the  times  when  the  Russian  serfs  believed, 
in  the  simplicity  of  their  abjectness,  that  heaven  was  only  made 
for  their  masters  :  dreadful  humility  of  misfortune  !  Such  was 
the  manner  in  which  the  Greek  church  taught  Christianity  to  the 
people. 

The  society  of  Moscow  is  agreeable  ;  the  mixture  of  the  patri- 
archal traditions  of  the  old  world  with  the  polished  manners  of 
the  modern,  produces  a  combination  that  is,  in  a  manner,  original. 
The  hospitable  customs  of  ancient  Asia  and  the  elegant  language 
of  civilised  Europe  have  met  together  at  this  point  of  the  globe, 
to  render  life  pleasant  and  easy.  Moscow,  fixed  on  the  limits 
of  two  continents,  marks,  in  the  middle  of  the  earth,  a  spot  of 
rest  between  London  and  Pekin. 

A  small  number  of  letters  of  introduction  suffice  to  put  a 
stranger  in  communication  with  a  crowd  of  persons,  distinguished 
either  by  rank,  fortune,  or  mind.  The  debut  of  a  traveller  is 
here  easy. 

I  was  invited  a  few  days  ago  to  dine  at  a  country-house.  It 
is  a  pavilion  situated  within  the  limits  of  the  city,  but,  to  reach 
it,  we  had  to  traverse,  for  more  than  a  league,  fields  that  resemble 
steppes,  to  skirt  solitary  pools  of  water ;  and,  at  last,  on  ap- 
proaching the  house,  we  perceived,  beyond  the  garden,  a  dark 
and  deep  forest  of  firs,  which  borders  the  exterior  bounds  of 
Moscow.  Who  would  not  have  been  struck  with  the  sight  of 
these  profound  shades,  these  majestic  solitudes,  in  a  city  where 
all  the  luxuries  and  refinements  of  modern  civilization  are  to  be 
found  ?  Such  contrasts  are  characteristics ;  nothing  similar  is  to 
be  seen  elsewhere. 


WANT    OF    GENEROSITY.  331 

I  entered  a  wooden  house — another  singularity.  In  Moscow 
both  rich  and  poor  are  sheltered  by  planks  and  boards,  as  in  the 
primitive  cottages.  But  the  interior  of  these  large  cabins  ex- 
hibits the  luxury  of  the  finest  palaces  of  Europe.  If  I  lived  at 
Moscow,  I  would  have  a  wooden  house.  It  is  the  only  kind  of 
habitation  the  style  of  which  is  national,  and  what  is  more  im- 
portant, it  is  the  only  kind  that  is  adapted  to  the  climate.  Houses 
of  wood  are  esteemed  by  the  true  Muscovites  as  warmer  and 
healthier  than  those  of  stone. 

We  dined  in  the  garden  j  and,  that  nothing  should  be  want- 
ing to  the  originality  of  the  scene,  I  found  the  table  laid  under 
a  tent.  The  conversation,  although  between  men  only,  and  very 
lively,  was  decent — a  thing  rarely  known  among  the  nations  who 
belieA^e  themselves  the  first  in  civilisation.  The  guests  were 
persons  who  had  both  seen  and  read  much ;  and  their  views  ap- 
peared to  me  very  clear  and  just.  The  Russians  are  apes  in  the 
manners  and  customs  of  refined  life  ;  but  those  who  think  (it  is 
true  their  number  is  limited)  become  themselves  again,  in  familiar 
conversation — Greeks,  namely,  endowed  with  a  quickness  and  sa- 
gacity which  is  hereditary. 

The  dinner  seemed  to  me  short,  although  in  reality  it  lasted 
a  considerable  time,  and  although,  at  the  moment  of  sitting  down 
at  table,  I  saw  the  guests  for  the  first  time,  and  the  master  of  the 
house  for  the  second.  This  remark  is  worthy  of  notice,  for  great 
and  true  politeness  could  alone  have  put  a  stranger  so  quickly  at 
his  ease.  Among  all  the  recollections  of  my  journey,  that  of 
this  day  will  remain  as  one  of  the  most  agreeable. 

At  the  moment  of  leaving  Moscow,  never  to  return,  except 
merely  to  pass  through  it,  I  do  not  think  it  will  be  inappropriate 
for  me  summarily  to  review  the  character  of  the  Russians,  so  far 
as  I  have  been  able  to  discern  it,  after  a  sojourn  in  their  country, 
very  brief,  it  is  true,  but  employed  without  cessation,  in  atten- 
tively observing  a  multitude  of  persons  and  of  things,  and  in 
comparing,  with  scrupulous  care,  innumerable  facts.  The  variety 
of  objects  which  passes  before  the  eyes  of  a  stranger,  as  much 
favoured  by  circumstances  as  I  have  been,  and  as  active  as  I  am 
when  excited  by  curiosity,  supplies,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  time 
and  leisure  which  I  have  wanted.  I  naturally  take  pleasure  in 
admiring :  this  disposition  ought  to  procure  some  credit  for  my 
opinions  when  I  do  not  admire. 

In  general,  the  men  of  this  country  do  not  appear  to  me  in- 
clined to  generosity ;  they  scarcely  believe  in  that  quality  ;  they 
would  deny  it  if  they  dared ;  and  if  they  do  not  deny  it,  they 


332  CONTEMPT    FOB   THE    LAW    OF    KINDNESS. 

despise  it,  because  they  have  nothing  in  themselves  by  which  to 
apprehend  its  nature.  They  have  more  finesse  than  delicacy, 
more  good  temper  than  sensibility,  more  pliancy  than  easy  con- 
tentedness,  more  grace  than  tenderness,  more  discernment  than 
invention,  more  wit  than  imagination,  more  observation  than  wit, 
more  of  the  spirit  of  selfish  calculation  than  all  these  qualities 
together.  They  never  labour  to  produce  results  useful  to  others, 
but  always  to  obtain  some  recompense  for  themselves.  Creative 
genius  has  been  denied  them ;  the  enthusiasm  which  produces  the 
sublime  is  to  them  unknown ;  sentiments  which  seek  only  within 
themselves  for  approval  and  for  recompense,  they  cannot  under- 
stand. Take  from  them  the  moving  influences  of  interest,  fear, 
and  vanity,  and  you  will  deprive  them  of  all  action.  If  they 
enter  the  empire  of  arts,  they  are  but  slaves  serving  in  a  palace ; 
the  sacred  solitudes  of  genius  are  to  them  inaccessible ;  the 
chaste  love  of  the  beautiful  cannot  satisfy  their  desires. 

It  is  with  their  actions  in  practical  life,  as  with  their  crea- 
tions in  the  world  of  thought, — where  artifice  triumphs,  magna- 
nimity passes  for  imposture. 

Greatness  of  mind  looks  to  itself  for  a  recompense ;  but  if  it 
asks  for  nothing  from  others,  it  commands  much,  for  it  seeks  to 
render  men  better :  here,  it  would  render  them  worse,  because  it 
would  be  considered  a  mask.  Clemency  is  called  a  weakness 
among  a  people  hardened  by  terror :  implacable  severity  makes 
them  bend  the  knee,  pardon  would  cause  them  to  lift  the  head; 
they  can  be  subdued,  but  no  one  knows  how  to  convince  them ; 
incapable  of  pride,  they  can  yet  be  audacious ;  they  revolt 
against  gentleness,  but  they  obey  ferocity,  which  they  take  for 
power. 

This  explains  to  me  the  system  of  government  adopted  by 
the  Emperor,  without,  however,  leading  me  to  approve  it.  That 
prince  knows  how  to  make  himself  obeyed,  and  acts  in  a  way  to 
command  obedience ;  but,  in  politics,  I  am  no  admirer  of  the 
compulsory  system.  Here,  discipline  is  the  end  ;  elsewhere,  it  is 
the  means.  Is  it  pardonable  in  a  prince  to  resist  the  good  dic- 
tates of  his  heart,  because  he  believes  it  dangerous  to  manifest 
sentiments  superior  to  those  of  his  people  ?  In  my  eyes,  the 
worst  of  all  weaknesses  is  that  which  renders  a  man  pitiless  and 
unmerciful.  To  be  ashamed  of  being  magnanimous  is  to  confess 
an  unworthiness  of  possessing  supreme  power. 

The  people  are  in  need  of  being  incessantly  reminded  of  a 
world  better  than  the  present  world.  How  can  they  be  made  to 
believe  in  God,  if  they  are  not  to  know  what  is  pardon  ?  Pru- 


SEDUCTIVE    MANNERS    OF    THE    RUSSIANS.  333 

dence  is  only  virtuous  when  it  does  not  exclude  a  higher  virtue. 
If  the  Emperor  has  not  in  his  heart  more  clemency  than  he  dis- 
plays in  his  policy,  I  pity  Russia ;  if  his  sentiments  are  superior 
to  his  acts,  I  pity  the  Emperor. 

The  Russians,  when  amiable,  have  a  fascination  in  their 
manners  whose  spell  we  feel  in  spite  of  every  prejudice ;  first, 
without  observing  it,  and  afterwards,  without  being  able  to  throw 
it  off.  To  define  such  an  influence  would  be  to  explain  the 
power  of  imagination.  The  charm  forms  an  imperious,  though 
secret  attraction, — a  sovereign  power  vested  in  the  innate  grace 
of  the  Sclavonians,  that  gift  of  grace  which,  in  society,  can  sup- 
ply the  want  of  all  other  gifts,  and  the  want  of  which  nothing 
can  supply. 

Imagine  the  defunct  French  politeness  again  restored  to  life, 
and  become  really  all  that  it  appeared — imagine  the  most  agree- 
able and  unstudied  complaisance — an  involuntary,  not  an  ac- 
quired, absence  of  egotism — an  ingenuity  in  good  taste — a 
pleasant  carelessness  of  choice — an  aristocratic  elegance  without 
hauteur — an  easiness  without  impertinence — the  instinct  of 
superiority  tempered  by  the  security  which  accompanies  rank  : — 
but  I  am  wrong  in  attempting  to  delineate  with  too  finely  drawn 
strokes ;  these  are  delicacies  in  the  shading  which  must  be  felt. 
We  may  divine  them,  but  we  must  avoid  attempting  to  fix  by 
words  their  too  elusive  forms.  Let  it  suffice  that  all  these,  and 
many  other  graces,  are  found  in  the  manners  and  conversation 
of  the  really  elegant  Russians,  and  more  frequently,  more  com- 
pletely, among  those  who  have  not  travelled,  but  who,  remaining 
in  Russia,  have  nevertheless  been  in  contact  with  distinguished 
foreigners. 

These  charms,  these  illusions,  give  them  a  sovereign  power 
over  hearts ;  so  long  as  you  remain  in  the  presence  of  the  privi- 
leged beings,  you  are  under  a  spell ;  and  the  charm  is  double,  for 
such  is  their  triumph,  that  you  imagine  yourself  to  be  to  them 
what  they  are  to  you.  Time  and  the  world,  engagements  and 
affairs,  are  forgotten ;  the  duties  of  society  are  abolished  ,•  one 
single  interest  remains — the  interest  of  the  moment;  one  single 
person  survives — the  person  present,  who  is  always  the  person 
liked.  The  desire  of  pleasing,  carried  to  this  excess,  infallibly 
succeeds :  it  is  the  sublime  of  good  taste  ;  it  is  elegance  the 
most  refined,  and  yet  as  natural  as  an  instinct.  This  supreme 
amiability  is  not  assumed  or  artificial,  it  is  a  gift  which  needs 
only  to  be  exercised ;  to  prolong  the  illusion  you  have  but  to 
prolong  your  stay.  The  Russians  are  the  best  actors  in  the 


334  THE  HI    VERSATILITY. 

world  :  to  produce  an  effect  they  need  none  of  the  accompani- 
ments of  scenery. 

Every  traveller  has  reproached  them  with  their  versatility : 
the  reproach  is  but  too  well  founded :  you  feel  yourself  forgotten 
in  bidding  them  adieu.  I  attribute  this,  not  only  to  levity  of 
character,  to  inconstancy  of  heart,  but  also  to  the  want  of  solid 
and  extended  information.  They  like  you  to  leave  them,  for 
they  fear  lest  they  should  be  discovered  when  they  allow  them- 
selves to  be  approached  for  too  long  a  time  uninterruptedly. 
Thence  arises  the  fondness  and  the  indifference  which  follow  each 
other  so  rapidly  among  them.  This  apparent  inconstancy  is  only 
a  precaution  of  vanity,  well  understood  and  sufficiently  common 
among  people  of  the  fashionable  world  in  every  land.  It  is  not 
their  faults  that  people  conceal  with  the  greatest  care,  it  is  their 
emptiness ;  they  do  not  blush  to  be  perverse,  but  they  are  hum- 
bled at  being  insignificant.  In  accordance  with  this  principle, 
the  Russians  of  the  higher  classes  willingly  exhibit  every  thing 
in  their  minds  and  character  likely  to  please  at  first  sight,  and 
which  keeps  up  conversation  for  a  few  hours  ;  but  if  you  endea- 
vour to  go  behind  the  decorated  scene  that  thus  dazzles  you,  they 
stop  you  as  they  would  a  rash  intruder,  who  might  take  it  into 
his  head  to  go  behind  the  screen  of  their  bedchambers,  of  which 
the  elegance  is  entirely  confined  to  the  outer  side  of  the  division. 
They  give  you  a  reception  dictated  by  curiosity  ;  they  afterwards 
repel  you  through  prudence. 

This  applies  to  friendship  as  well  as  to  love,  to  the  society  of 
men  as  well  as  to  that  of  women.  In  giving  the  portrait  of  a 
Russian,  we  paint  the  nation,  just  as  a  soldier  under  arms  conveys 
the  idea  of  all  his  regiment.  Nowhere  is  the  influence  of  unity 
in  the  government  and  in  education  so  sensibly  visible  as  here. 
Every  mind  wears  a  uniform.  Alas  !  how  greatly  must  those 
suffer,  be  they  even  no  longer  young  and  sensitive,  who  bring 
among  this  people — cold-hearted  and  keen-witted  both  by  nature 
and  social  education — the  simplicity  of  other  lands  !  I  picture  to 
myself  the  sensibility  of  the  Germans,  the  confiding  naivete  and 
the  careless  gaiety  of  the  French,  the  constancy  of  the  Spaniards, 
the  passion  of  the  English,*  the  abandon  and  good-nature  of  the 
true,  the  old  Italians,  all  in  the  toils  of  the  inherent  Russian  co- 
quetry ;  and  I  pity  the  unfortunate  foreigners  who  could  believe 
for  a  moment  they  might  become  actors  in  the  theatre  which 
awaits  them  here.  In  matters  of  the  affections,  the  Russians  are  the 

*  La  Constance  des  Espagnols,  la  passion  des  Anglais. 


LIBERTINISM    IN    MOSCOW.  335 

gentlest  wild  beasts  that  are  to  be  seen  on  earth  ;  and  their  well- 
concealed  claws  unfortunately  divest  them  of  none  of  their  charms. 
I  have  never  felt  a  fascination  to  be  compared  to  it,  except  in 
Polish  society :  a  new  relation,  discoverable  between  the  two 
families  !  Civil  hate  in  vain  strives  to  separate  these  people ; 
nature  re-unites  them  in  spite  of  themselves.  If  policy  did  not 
compel  one  to  oppress  the  other,  they  would  recognise  and  love 
each  other.  The  Poles  are  chivalric  and  Catholic  Russians  ;  with 
the  further  difference,  that,  in  Poland,  it  is  the  women  who  form 
the  life  of  society,  or,  in  other  words,  who  command,  and  that  in 
Russia  it  is  the  men. 

These  same  people,  so  naturally  amiable,  so  well  endowed,  so 
extremely  agreeable,  sometimes  go  astray  in  paths  which  men  of 
the  coarsest  characters  would  avoid. 

It  is  impossible  to  picture  to  one's  self  the  life  of  many  of  the 
most  distinguished  young  persons  in  Moscow.  These  men,  who 
bear  names,  and  belong  to  families  known  throughout  Europe,  are 
lost  in  excesses  that  will  not  bear  to  be  described.  It  is  incon- 
ceivable how  they  can  resist  for  six  months  the  system  they  adopt 
for  life,  and  maintain  with  a  constancy  which  would  be  worthy  of 
heaven,  if  its  object  were  virtuous.  Their  temperaments  seem  to 
be  made  expressly  for  the  anticipated  hell ; — for  it  is  thus  that  I 
qualify  the  life  of  a  professed  debauchee  in  Moscow. 

In  physical  respects  the  climate,  and  in  moral  respects,  the 
government,  of  this  land  devour  all  that  is  weak  in  its  germ :  all 
that  is  not  stupid  or  robust  dies  early,  none  survive  but  the  de- 
based, and  natures  strong  in  good  as  in  evil.  Russia  is  the  land 
of  unbridled  passions  or  of  passive  characters,  of  rebels  or  of  au- 
tomata, of  conspirators  or  of  machines.  There  is  here  nothing 
intermediate  between  the  tyrant  and  the  slave,  between  the  mad- 
man and  the  animal :  the  juste  milieu  is  unknown  ;  nature  will 
not  tolerate  it ;  the  excess  of  cold,  like  that  of  heat,  pushes  man 
to  extremes. 

Notwithstanding  the  contrasts  which  I  here  point  out,  all  re- 
semble each  other  in  one  respect — all  have  levity  of  character. 
Among  these  men  of  the  moment,  the  projects  of  the  evening  are 
constantly  lost  in  the  forgetfulness  of  the  morrow.  It  may  be  said 
that  with  them  the  heart  is  the  empire  of  chance ;  nothing  can 
stand  against  their  propensity  to  embrace  and  to  abandon.  They 
live  and  die  without  perceiving  the  serious  side  of  existence. 
Neither  good  nor  evil  seems  in  their  eyes  to  possess  any  reality ; 
they  can  cry,  but  they  cannot  be  unhappy.  Palaces,  mountains, 
giants,  sylphs,  passions,  solitude,  brilliant  crowds,  supreme  hap- 


330  MORAL    LICENCE    IN    LIEU    OF    POLITICAL    FREEDOM. 

piness,  unbounded  grief, — but  it  is  useless  to  enumerate 

ter  of  an  hour's  conversation  with  them  suffices  to  brii 

your  eyes  the  whole  universe.     Their  prompt  and  cont(    ij.tuous 

glance  surveys,  without  admiring,  the  monuments  raised  I 

intelligence  during  centuries.     They  fancy  they  can  pla 

selves  above  every  thing,  because  they  despise  every  thin< 

very  praises  are  insults  :  they  eulogise  like  people  who  env    ;  they 

prostrate  themselves,  but  always  unwillingly,  before  tin 

which  they  believe  to  be  the  idols  of  fashion.     But  at  t 

breath  of  wind,  the  cloud  succeeds    the  picture,  and  ; 

cloud  vanishes  in  turn.     Dust,  smoke,  and  chaotic  nothingness, 

are  all  that  can  issue  from  such  inconsistent  heads. 

No  plant  takes  root  in  a  soil  thus  profoundly  agitated.   Every 
thing  is  swept  away;  every  thing  becomes  levelled;  all 
in  vapour.     But  from  this  fluid  element  nothing  is  fii 
pelled.     Friendship  or  love  that  was  imagined  lost,  w 
again  rise,  evoked  by  a  glance  or  a  single  word,  and  at   1 
moment  when  least  thought  of;  though,  in  truth,  it  is  only  thus 
revived  to  be  almost  as  quickly  again  dismissed.     Under  < 
waving  wand  of  these  magicians,  life  is  one  continued  phantas- 
magoria— one  long  fatiguing  game,  in  which,  hovVever,  tht 
alone  ruin  themseves;  for  when  all  the  world  is  cheating, 
is  being  cheated  :  in  a  word,  they  are  false  as  water,  tc 
poetical  expression  of  Shakespeare,  the  broad  strokes  o 
pencil  are  the  revelations  of  nature. 

This  explains  to  me  why  hitherto  they  have  appeared  to  be 
doomed  by  Providence  to  a  despotic  government :  it  is  in  pity  as 
much  as  through  custom  that  they  are  tyrannised  over. 

If,  in  addressing  myself  to  the  friend  to  whom  I  send  thia- 
chapter,  I  addressed  myself  to  but  one  philosopher,  here  v  ;uld  be 
the  place  for  inserting  details  of  manners-  which  resemble  nothing 
that  he  has  ever  read  of,  even  in  France,  where  every  thing  i 
written  and  described;  but,  behind  him,  I  see  the  public,  ,:ul  this 
consideration  stops  me.     My  friend  must  therefore  imagine  what 
I  do  not  relate :  or,  rather,  to  speak  more  correctly,  thai  friem 
will  never  be  able  to  imagine  it.     The  excesses  of  despotism,  which 
can  alone  give  birth  to  the  moral  anarchy  that  here  reigns  around 
me,  being  only  known  by  hearsay,  their  consequences  would  ap- 
pear incredible.     Where  legitimate  liberty  is  wanted,  ilk- 
liberty  is  sure  to  spring  up;  where  the  use  is  interdicted,  the 
abuse  will  certainly  creep  in :  deny  the  right,  and  you  create  the 
fraud :  refuse  justice,  and  you  open  the  door  to  crime. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  principles,  Moscow  is,  of  all  the 


OBSERVATIONS    ON    MODERN    LITERATURE.  337 

cities  in  Europe,  the  one  in  which  the  dissolute  man  of  the  fash- 
ionable world  has  the  widest  field  for  his  career.  The  government 
is  too  well  informed  not  to  know  that  under  an  absolute  rule  some 
kind  of  revolt  must  somewhere  break  out ;  but  it  prefers  that  this 
revolt  should  be  in  manners  rather  than  in  politics.  Here  lies  the 
secret  of  the  licence  of  the  one  party  and  the  tolerance  of  the  other. 
The  corruption  of  manners  in  Moscow  has  also  other  causes.  One 
is,  that  the  greater  number  of  well-born,  but,  by  their  conduct,  ill- 
famed  persons,  retire  when  disgraced,  and  here  establish  themselves. 
After  the  orgies  which  our  modern  literature  takes  pleasure  in 
depicting,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  authors,  with  a  moral  intention, 
we  ought  to  be  familiar  with  all  the  features  of  dissolute  life.  I 
pass  over  the  question  of  the  pretended  utility  of  their  aim ;  I  can 
tolerate  their  long  though  useless  sermons  :  but  there  is  in  litera- 
ture something  more  dangerous  even  than  the  immoral ;  it  is  the 
ignoble.  If,  under  the  pretext  of  provoking  salutary  reforms  in 
the  lowest  classes  of  society,  the  taste  of  the  superior  classes  is 
corrupted,  evil  is  done.  To  present  to  women  the  language  of 
the  pot-houses,  to  make  men  of  rank  in  love  with  coarse  vulgari- 
ties, is  to  injure  the  manners  of  a  nation  in  a  way  for  which  no 
legal  reform  can  compensate.  Literature  is  lost  among  us,  because 
our  most  intellectual  writers,  forgetting  all  poetical  sentiment,  all 
respect  for  the  beautiful,  write  for  the  taste  of  the  town ;  and, 
instead  of  elevating  their  new  readers  to  the  views  of  delicate  and 
noble  minds,  they  lower  themselves  to  the  point  of  ministering  to 
their  coarsest  appetites.  They  have  rendered  literature  an  ardent 
liquor,  because,  with  sensibility,  the  faculty  of  tasting  and  feeling 
simple  things  is  lost.  This  is  a  more  serious  evil  than  all  the  in- 
consistencies that  have  been  noted  in  the  laws  and  manners  of  the 
former  state  of  society.  It  is  another  consequence  of  the  modern 
materialism,  which  would  reduce  every  thing  to  the  useful,  and 
which  can  only  discern  the  useful  in  immediate  and  positive  results. 
Woe  to  the  land  where  the  men  of  genius  lower  themselves  to  play 
the  part  of  commissioners  of  police  !  When  an  author  feels  him- 
self called  upon  to  describe  vice  he  should  at  least  redouble  his 
respect  for  good  taste  ;  he  should  propose  to  himself  the  ideal 
truth  for  the  type  even  of  his  most  vulgar  characters.  But  too 
often,  under  the  profession  of  our  moralist,  or  rather  moralising 
romance-writers,  we  discover  less  love  of  virtue  than  cynic  indiffer- 
ence to  good  taste.  There  is  a  want  of  poetry  in  their  works, 
because  there  is  a  want  of  faith  in  their  hearts.  To  ennoble  the 
picture  of  vice,  as  Richardson  has  done  in  his  "  Lovelace,"  is  not 
to  corrupt  the  mind,  but  to  avoid  soiling  the  imagination  and 
15 


338  WANT    OF    HONESTY    IN    COMMERCE. 

lowering  the  tone  of  sentiment.  Such  respect  for  the  delicacy  of 
the  reader  has,  if  you  like,  a  moral  object ;  it  is  far  more  essential 
to  civilized  society  than  an  exact  knowledge  of  the  turpitude  of  its 
bandits,  and  the  virtues  of  its  prostitutes.  I  must  ask  pardon  for 
this  excursion  in  the  fields  of  contemporary  criticism,  and  hasten 
to  return  to  the  strict  and  painful  duties  of  the  veracious  traveller, 
duties  that  are  unfortunately  too  often  opposed  to  these  laws  of 
literary  composition,  which  a  respect  for  my  language  and  my 
country  has  induced  me  to  refer  to. 

The  writings  of  our  boldest  painters  of  manners  are  but  weak 
copies  of  the  originals  which  have  been  daily  presented  to  my 
eyes  since  I  have  been  in  Russia. 

Bad  faith  injures  every  thing,  but  more  especially  the  affairs 
of  commerce  :  here  it  has  yet  another  sphere  of  action  ;  it  incom- 
modes the  libertines  in  the  execution  of  their  most  secret  con- 
tracts. The  continual  alterations  of  money,  favour,  in  Moscow, 
every  species  of  subterfuge ;  nothing  is  clear  and  precise  in  the 
mouth  of  a  Russian,  nothing  is  well  defined  or  well  guaranteed ; 
and  the  purse  always  gains  something  by  the  slipperiness  of  the 
language.  This  extends  even  to  amorous  transactions :  each 
party,  knowing  the  duplicity  of  the  other,  requires  payment  in 
advance,  whence  much  difficulty  arises. 

The  female  peasants  are  more  cunning  than  even  the  women 
of  the  town.  Sometimes  these  young  and  doubly-corrupted  sav- 
ages violate  the  primary  laws  of  prostitution,  and  escape  with 
their  booty,  without  paying  the  dishonorable  debt  they  had  con- 
tracted. The  bandits  of  other  lands  observe  their  oaths,  and 
maintain  the  good  faith  of  comradeship  in  crime.  The  dissolute 
and  abandoned  in  Russia  know  nothing  that  is  sacred,  not  even 
the  religion  of  debauchery,  though  it  be  a  guarantee  essential  to 
the  exercise  of  their  profession, — so  true  is  it  that  the  commerce 
even  of  shame  cannot  be  carried  on  without  probity. 

Civilization,  which  elsewhere  elevates  the  mind,  here  per- 
verts it.  It  had  been  better  for  the  Russians  had  they  re- 
mained savages : — to  polish  slaves  is  to  betray  society.  It  is 
needful  that  a  man  possess  a  fund  of  virtue  to  enable  him  to  bear 
culture. 

Under  the  influence  of  their  government,  the  Russian  people 
have  become  taciturn  and  deceitful,  although  "naturally  gentle 
lively,  docile,  and  pacific.  Assuredly  these  are  rare  endowments  ; 
and  yet,  where  there  is  a  want  of  sincerity  ther*e  is  nothing. 
The  Mongolian  avidity  of  this  race,  and  itV  incurable  suspicion 
and  distrust,  are  revealed  by  the  least  as  wel\  as  the  most  impor- 


RUSSIAN    CURIOSITY.  339 

tant  circumstances  of  life.  Should  you  owe  twenty  rubles  to  a 
workman,  he  would  return  twenty  times  a  day  to  ask  for  them, 
unless,  at  least,  you  were  a  dreaded  nobleman.  In  Latin  lands, 
a  promise  is  a  sacred  thing — a  pledge  to  the  giver  as  well  as  the 
receiver.  Among  the  Greeks,  and  their  disciples  the  Russians, 
the  word  of  a  man  is  nothing  better  than  the  false  key  of  a  rob- 
ber— it  serves  to  break  into  the  interests  of  others. 

To  make  the  sign  of  the  cross  in  the  streets  before  an  im- 
age, and  on  sitting  down  to  table,  is  all  that  the  Greek  religion 
teaches. 

Intemperance  is  here  carried  to  such  excess,  that  one  of  the 
men,  the  most  liked,  and  whose  society  is  the  most  courted  in 
Moscow,  disappears  every  year  for  six  weeks,  neither  more  nor 
less.  If  it  be  asked  what  has  become  of  him,  the  answer,  "  he  is 
only  gone  to  have  a  fuddling  bout,"  satisfies  every  body. 

The  Russians  have  too  much  levity  to  be  vindictive;  they  are 
graceful  debauchees.  I  take  pleasure  in  repeating  that  they  are 
supremely  pleasant  and  agreeable ;  but  their  politeness,  insinuat- 
ing as  it  is,  sometimes  becomes  exaggerated  and  fatiguing.  This 
often  makes  me  regret  coarseness,  which  has  at  least  the  merit  of 
being  natural.  The  first  law  of  politeness  is  to  indulge  only  in 
praises  that  can  be  accepted ;  all  others  are  insults.  True  polite- 
ness is  nothing  more  than  a  code  of  flatteries  well  disguised. 
What  is  so  flattering  as  cordiality  ?  for,  in  order  to  manifest  it, 
sympathy  must  first  be  felt. 

If  there  are  very  polite  persons  among  the  Russians,  there 
are  also  very  unpolite.  The  bad  taste  of  these  latter  is  shocking. 
They  inquire,  after  the  manner  of  savages,  into  things  the  most 
important,  as  well  as  into  the  most  trifling  bagatelles,  without  any 
modesty  and  with  the  utmost  minuteness.  They  assail  you  with 
impertinent  or  puerile  questions,  and  act  at  the  same  time  as 
children  and  as  spies.  The  Sclavonians  are  naturally  inquisitive  ; 
and  it  is  only  good  education,  and  the  habits  of  the  best  society, 
that  can  repress  their  curiosity  :  those  who  have  not  these  advan- 
tages never  tire  of  putting  you  in  the  witness-box  :  they  must 
know  the  objects  and  the  results  of  your  journey  ;  they  will  ask 
boldly  if  you  prefer  Russia  to  other  lands ;  if  you  think  Moscow 
more  beautiful  than  Paris ;  if  the  Winter  Palace  at  Petersburg 
is  finer  than  the  Tuileries ;  if  Krasnacselo  is  larger  than  Ver- 
sailles :  such  interrogations  are  repeated  unceasingly,  and  with 
each  new  individual  to  whom  you  are  introduced  you  have  to  re- 
commence the  rehearsal  of  this  catechism,  in  which  national  van- 
ity hypocritically  draws  upon  the  urbanity  of  foreigners,  and  ven- 
tures its  own  rudeness  in  reliance  upon  the  politeness  of  others. 


340  PKrNC'fl    AND    HIS    COMPANIONS. 

I  have  been  introduced  to  a  person  who  was  described  to  me 
as  a  singular  character,  worthy  of  observation.  He  is  a  young 

man  of  illustrious  name,  the  Prince ,  the  only  son  of  a  very 

rich  individual ;  although  this  son  spends  double  his  income,  and 
treats  his  mind  and  body  as  he  does  his  fortune.  The  tavern  is 
his  empire :  it  is  there  that  he  reigns  eighteen  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four ;  on  that  ignoble  theatre  he  displays,  naturally  and 
involuntarily,  noble  and  elegant  manners ;  his  countenance  is  in- 
tellectual and  extremely  fascinating ;  his  disposition  is  at  once 
amiable  and  mischievous  :  many  traits  of  rare  liberality,  and  even 
of  touching  sensibility,  are  recounted  of  him. 

Having  had  for  his  tutor  a  man  of  great  talent,  an  old  French 
abbe  and  emigre,  he  is  remarkably  well  informed ;  his  mind  is 
quick  and  endowed  with  great  capacity ;  his  wit  is  uneqalled  in 
Moscow,  but  his  language  and  conduct  are  such  as  would  not  be 
tolerated  elsewhere :  his  charming  though  restless  face  betrays 
the  contradiction  that  exists  between  his  natural  character  and 
his  course  of  life. 

Profligacy  has  impressed  upon  his  countenance  the  traces  of  a 
premature  decay ;  still  these  ravages  of  folly,  not  of  time,  have 
been  unable  to  change  the  almost  infantine  expression  of  his  noble 
and  regular  features.  Innate  grace  will  last  with  life,  and  re- 
main faithful  to  the  man  who  possesses  it,  whatever  effort  he  may 
make  to  throw  it  off.  In  no  other  land  could  a  man  be  found 

like  the  young  Prince ,  but  there  are  more  than  one  such 

here. 

He  is  to  be  seen  surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  young  men,  his 
disciples  and  competitors,  who,  without  equalling  him  either  in 
disposition  or  in  mind,  all  share  with  him  a  kind  of  family  resem- 
blance :  it  may  be  seen  at  the  first  glance  that  they  are,  and  only 
can  be,  Kussians.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  am  about  to  give 

some  details  connected  with  their  manner  of  life 

But  already  my  pen  falls  from  my  hands ;  for  it  will  be  necessary 
to  reveal  the  connection  of  these  libertines,  not  with  women  of 
the  town,  but  with  the  youthful  sisters  of  religious  orders, — with 
nuns,  whose  cloisters,  as  it  will  be  seen,  are  not  very  securely 
guarded.  I  hesitate  to  relate  facts  which  will  too  readily  recall 
our  revolutionary  literature  of  1 793.  I  shall  remind  the  reader 
of  the  Visitandines ; — and  why,  he  will  ask,  lift  a  corner  of  the 
veil  that  shrouds  scenes  of  disorder  which  ought  to  remain  care- 
fully covered  ?  Perhaps  my  passion  for  the  truth  obscures  my 
judgment;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  evil  triumphs  so  long  as  it  re- 
mains secret,  whilst  to  publish  it  is  to  aid  in  destroying  it ;  be- 


MURDER    IN    A    NUNNERY.  341 

sides,  I  have  resolved  to  draw  a  picture  of  this  country  as  I  see 
it, — not  a  composition,  but  an  exact  and  complete  copy  from  na- 
ture. My  business  is  to  represent  things  as  they  are,  not  as  they 
ought  to  be.  The  only  law  that  I  impose  upon  myself,  under  a 
sense  of  delicacy,  is  to  forbear  making  any  allusion  to  persons 
who  desire  to  remain  unknown.  As  for  the  man  whom  I  select 
as  a  specimen  of  the  most  unbridled  among  the  libertines  of 
Moscow,  he  carries  his  contempt  of  opinion  to  the  extent  of  de- 
siring me  to  describe  him  as  I  see  him.  The  truth  of  the  seve- 
ral facts  related  by  himself,  which  I  cite,  have  been  confirmed  to 
me  by  others. 

A  story  of  the  death  of  a  young  man  killed  in  the  convent  of 

,  by  the  nuns  themselves,  he  told  me  yesterday  at  a  full 

table-d'hote,  before  several  grave  and  elderly  personages,  em- 
ployes and  placemen,  who  listened  with  an  extraordinary  patience 
to  this  and  several  other  tales,  of  a  similar  kind,  all  very  con- 
trary to  good  manners. 

I  have  surnamed  this  singular  young  man  the  Don  Juan  of 
the  Old  Testament,  so  greatly  does  the  measure  of  his  madness 
and  audacity  exceed  the  ordinary  bounds  of  an  abandoned  life 
among  modern  nations.  Nothing  is  little  or  moderate  in  Russia : 
if  the  land  is  not,  as  my  Italian  cicerone  calls  it,  a  land  of  mira- 
cles, it  is  truly  a  land  of  giants. 

The  story  in  question  related  to  a  young  man,  who,  after  having 

passed  an  entire  month  concealed  within  the  convent  of , 

began,  at  last,  to  weary  of  his  excess  of  happiness  to  a  degree 
that  wearied  the  holy  sisters  also.  He  appeared  dying  :  where- 
upon the  nuns,  wishing  to  be  rid  of  him,  but  fearing  the  scandal 
that  might  ensue  should  they  send  him  to  die  in  the  world,  con- 
cluded that  it  would  be  better  to  make  an  end  of  him  themselves. 
No  sooner  said  than  done  : — the  mangled  remains  of  the  wretched 
being  were  found.a  few  days  after  at  the  bottom  of  a  well.  The 
affair  was  hushed  up. 

If  we  are  to  believe  the  same  authorities,  there  are  numerous 
convents  in  Moscow  in  which  the  rules  of  the  cloister  are  little 
observed.  One  of  the  friends  of  the  prince  yesterday  exhibited 
before  me  to  the  whole  legation  of  libertines,  the  rosary  of  a 
novice,  which  he  said  she  had  forgotten  and  left  that  very  morn- 
ing in  his  chamber.  Another  made  a  trophy  of  a  Book  of 
Prayers,  which  he  stated  had  belonged  to  one  of  the  sisters  who 

was  reputed  among  the  most  holy  of  the  community  of ;  and 

the  audience  warmly  applauded. 

I  shall  not  go  on.    Each  had  his  scandalous  anecdote  to  relate, 


342  A    BURLESQUE    PETITION. 

and  all  excited  loud  peals  of  laughter.  Gaiety,  ever  increasing, 
soon  became  drunken  riot  under  the  influence  of  the  wine  of  Ai, 
which  overflowed  in  goblets,  the  size  of  which  was  more  capable 
of  satisfying  Muscovite  intemperance  than  our  old-fashioned 
champagne-glasses.  In  the  midst  of  the  general  disorder,  the 

young  Prince and  myself  alone  preserved  our  reason, — he, 

because  he  can  outdrink  every  body,  I,  because  I  cannot  drink  at 
all,  and  had  therefore  abstained  from  attempting. 

In  the  midst  of  the  uproar,  the  Lovelace  of  the  Kremlin  rose 
with  a  solemn  air,  and,  with  the  authority  which  his  fortune,  his 
name,  his  handsome  face,  and  yet  more,  his  superior  mental  capa- 
city give  him,  he  commanded  silence,  and  to  my  great  surprise 
obtained  it.  I  could  have  fancied  I  was  reading  the  poetical  de- 
scription of  a  tempest  appeased  by  the  voice  of  some  pagan  god. 
The  young  god  proposed  to  the  friends  whom  the  gravity  of  his 
aspect  had  thus  suddenly  calmed,  to  indite  a  petition,  addressed  to 
the  proper  authorities,  humbly  remonstrating,  in  the  name  of  the 
courtesans  of  Moscow,  that  the  ancient  religious  institutions  of 
nunneries  so  completely  interfered  with  and  rivalled  their  lay 
community,  in  the  exercise  of  their  calling,  as  to  render  that 
calling  no  longer  profitable ;  and  therefore  respectfully  stating 
that,  as  the  expenses  of  these  poor  cyprians  were  not  diminished 
in  the  same  proportion  as  their  gains,  they  ventured  to  hope  an 
equitable  consideration  of  their  case  would  induce  the  authorities 
to  see  fit  to  deduct  from  a  part  of  the  revenue  of  the  said  convents, 
a  pecuniary  aid,  which  had  become  absolutely  necessary,  unless  it 
was  wished  that  the  religious  orders  should  entirely  take  the  place 
of  the  civil  recluses.  The  motion  was  put  and  carried  with  loud 
acclamations;  ink  and  paper  were  called  for;  and  the  young 
madman  immediately  drew  up,  in  very  good  French,  and  with 
magisterial  dignity,  a  document  too  scandalously  burlesque  for  me 
to  insert  here,  though  I  have  a  copy.  It  was  thrice  read  by  the 
author  before  the  meeting,  with  a  loud  emphatical  voice,  and  was 
received  with  the  most  flattering  marks  of  approbation. 

Such  was  the  scene,  of  which  I  have  perhaps  already  recounted 
too  much,  that  I  witnessed  yesterday  in  one  of  the  best  frequented 
taverns  of  Moscow.  It  was  the  day  after  the  agreeable  dinner- 
party in  the  pretty  pavilion  of .  In  vain  is  uniformity  the 

law  of  the  state  :  nature  lives  on  variety,  and  knows  how,  at  all 
costs,  to  obtain  her  wants. 

I  have  spared  the  reader  many  details,  and  greatly  moderated 
the  expression  of  those  which  I  have  inflicted  upon  him.  If  I 
had  been  more  exact  I  should  not  be  read.  Montaigne,  Rabelais, 


PARTING    SCENE    WITH    PRINCE    .  343 

Shakspeare,  and  many  other  great  describers,  would  chasten  their 
style  if  they  wrote  in  our  age ;  how  much  more  carefully,  then, 
should  they  who  have  not  the  same  right  to  independence  watch 
over  their  words  and  allusions.  The  prudery  of  the  present  day, 
if  not  respectable,  is  at  least  formidable.  Virtue  blushes ;  but 
hypocrisy  loudly  exclaims. 

The  captain  of  the  troop  of  debauchees,  whose  head-quartsrs 
is  the  tavern  before  noticed,  is  endowed  with  so  singular  an 
elegance,  his  bearing  is  so  distinguished,  his  person  so  agreeable, 
there  is  so  much  good  taste  even  in  his  follies,  so  much  kindly 
feeling  painted  on  his  countenance,  so  much  nobleness  in  his 
manner,  and  even  in  his  wildest  language,  that  I  pity  more  than 
I  blame  him.  He  rules  from  a  high  elevation  the  companions  of 
his  excesses  ;  he  has  no  appearance  of  being  born  for  bad  com- 
pany ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  feeling  a  deep  interest  in 
him,  although  he  is,  in  great  part,  responsible  for  the  errors 
of  his  imitators.  Superiority,  even  in  evil,  always  exerts  its 
influence. 

He  had  engaged  me  to-day  to  accompany  him  on  an  excur- 
sion into  the  country,  which  was  to  occupy  two  days.  But  I 
have  just  been  to  find  him  in  his  usual  retreat,  in  order  to  excuse 
myself.  I  pleaded  the  necessity  of  hastening  my  journey  to 
Nijni,  and  obtained  my  release.  Before  however  leaving  him  to 
the  course  of  folly  which  is  dragging  him  onwards,  I  must 
describe  the  scene  that  was  prepared  for  me  in  the  court  of  the 
tavern,  into  which  they  obliged  me  to  descend  to  view  the  de- 
campment of  this  horde  of  libertines.  The  farewell  was  a  true 
bacchanal. 

Imagine  a  dozen  young  men  already  more  than  half  drunk, 
loudly  disputing  with  one  another  respecting  their  seats  in  three 
caleches,  each  drawn  by  four  horses.  A  group  of  lookers  on,  the 
tavern-keeper  at  their  head,  followed  by  all  the  servants  of  the 
house  and  stables,  admired,  envied,  and  ridiculed — although  this 
last  was  done  under  the  cloak  of  much  outward  reverence  ;  mean- 
while the  leader  of  the  band,  standing  up  in  his  open  carriage, 
played  his  part,  and  ruled,  by  voice  and  gesture,  with  unaffected 
gravity.  There  was  placed  at  his  feet  a  bucket,  or  rather  a  large 
tub,  full  of  champagne-bottles  in  ice.  This  species  of  portable 
cellar  was  the  provision  for  the  journey, — to  refresh  his  throat, 
as  he  said,  when  the  dust  of  the  road  was  troublesome.  One  of 
his  adjutants,  whom  he  called  the  general  of  the  corks,  had  already 
opened  two  or  three  bottles ;  and  the  young  madman  was  dispen- 
sing huge  goblets  of  the  costly  wine,  the  best  champagne  to 


344  AN    ELEGANT    COACHMAN. 

be  had  in  Moscow,  to  the  by-standers,  as  a  parting  libation. 
Two  cups,  quickly  emptied  and  incessantly  replenished  by  his 
most  zealous  satellite,  the  general  of  the  corks,  were  in  his  hands. 
He  drank  one,  and  offered  the  other  to  the  nearest  by-stander. 
His  servants  were  all  clothed  in  grand  livery,  with  the  exception 
of  the  coachman,  a  young  serf  whom  he  had  recently  brought 
from  his  estates.  This  man  was  dressed  in  a  most  costly  manner, 
far  more  remarkable  in  its  apparent  simplicity  than  the  gold- lace 
trappings  of  the  other  servants.  He  had  on  a  shirt  of  precious 
silken  tissue,  brought  from  Persia,  and  above  it  a  cafetan  of  the 
finest  cassimere,  bordered  with  beautiful  velvet,  which,  opening 
at  the  breast,  displayed  the  shirt,  plaited  in  folds  so  small  as  to  be 
scarcely  perceptible.  The  dandies  of  Petersburg  like  the  youngest 
and  handsomest  of  their  people  to  be  thus  dressed  on  days  of 
ceremony.  The  rest  of  the  costume  corresponded  with  this 
luxury.  The  boots,  of  fine  Torjeck  leather,  embroidered  with 
flowers  of  gold  and  silver  thread,  glittered  at  the  feet  of  the 
rustic,  who  seemed  dazzled  with  his  own  splendour,  and  was  so 
perfumed  that  I  was  almost  overcome  with  the  essences  exhaled 
from  his  hair,  beard,  and  clothes  at  the  distance  of  several  feet 
from  the  carriage. 

After  having  drunk  with  the  whole  tavern,  the  young  noble 
leant  towards  the  man  thus  decked  out,  and  presented  him  with 
a  foaming  cup,  saying,  "  drink."  The  poor,  gilded  moujik  was, 
in  his  inexperience,  at  a  loss  how  to  act.  "  Drink,  I  say,"  con- 
tiuued  his  master  (this  was  translated  to  me) ;  "  drink,  you 
rascal :  it  is  not  to  you  I  give  this  champagne,  but  to  your  horses, 
who  will  not  have  strength  to  gallop  the  whole  journey  if  the 
coachman  is  not  drunk  :  "  upon  which  the  whole  assembly  laughed 
and  loudly  cheered.  The  coachman  was  soon  persuaded  :  he  was 
already  in  the  third  bumper  when  his  master  gave  the  signal  to 
start,  which  he  did  not  do  till  he  had  renewed  to  me,  with  a 
charming  politeness,  his  regret  at  having  been  unable  to  persuade 
me  to  accompany  him  on  his  party  of  pleasure.  He  appeared  so 
distingue,  that,  while  he  spoke,  I  forgot  the  place  and  scene, 
and  fancied  myself  at  Versailles  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV. 

At  last  he  departed  for  the  chateau,  where  he  is  to  spend 
three  days.  These  gentlemen  call  such  an  excursion  a  summer 
hunt. 

We  may  easily  guess  how  they  relieve  themselves  in  the 
country  from  the  ennui  of  town  life — by  continuing  the  same 
thing ;  by  pursuing  the  same  career ;  by  reviving  the  scenes  of 
Moscow,  except,  at  least,  that  they  introduce  new  figurantes 


TAVERN    CONVERSATION.  345 

upon  the  boards.  They  carry  with  them,  in  these  journeys, 
cargoes  of  engravings  of  the  most  celebrated  pictures  of  France 
and  Italy,  to  furnish  them  with  subjects  for  tableaux  vivants, 
which  they  cause  to  be  represented  with  certain  modifications  of 
costume. 

The  villages,  and  all  that  they  contain,  are  their  own ;  so 
that  it  may  easily  be  supposed  the  privilege  of  the  noblemen  in 
Russia  extends  further  than  at  the  Opera  Comique  of  Paris. 

The Tavern,  open  to  all  the  world,  is  situated  in  one  of 

the  public  squares  of  the  city,  a  few  steps  only  from  a  guard- 
house full  of  Cossacks,  whose  stiff  bearing  and  severely  gloomy 
air  would  impart  to  foreigners  the  idea  of  a  country  where  no 
one  dares  to  laugh  even  innocently. 

As  I  have  imposed  upon  myself  the  duty  of  communicating 
the  ideas  that  I  have  formed  of  this  land,  I  feel  called  upon  to 
add  to  the  picture  already  sketched,  a  few  new  specimens  of  the 
conversation  of  the  parties  already  brought  before  the  reader. 

One  boasted  of  himself  and  his  brothers  being  the  sons  of  the 
footmen  and  the  coachmen  of  their  reputed  father ;  and  he  drank, 
and  made  the  guests  drink,  to  the  health  of  all  his  unknown 
parents.  Another  claimed  the  honour  of  being  brother  (on  the 
father's  side)  of  all  the  waiting-maids  of  his  mother. 

Many  of  these  vile  boasts  are  no  doubt  made  for  the  sake  of 
talking :  but  to  invent  such  infamies  in  order  to  glory  in  them, 
shows  a  corruption  of  mind  that  proves  wickedness  to  the  very 
core — wickedness  worse  even  than  that  exhibited  in  the  mad 
actions  of  these  libertines. 

According  to  them,  the  citizens'  wives  in  Moscow  are  no 
better  than  the  women  of  rank. 

During  the  months  that  their  husbands  go  to  the  fair  of  Nijni, 
the  officers  of  the  garrison  take  special  care  not  to  leave  the  city. 
This  is  the  season  of  easy  assignations.  The  ladies  are  generally 
accompanied  to  the  place  of  rendezvous  by  some  respectable  rela- 
tion, to  whose  care  their  absent  husbands  have  confided  them. 
The  good-will  and  silence  of  these  family  duennas  have  also  to 
be  paid  for.  Gallantry  of  this  kind  cannot  be  excused  as  a  love" 
affair :  there  is  no  love  without  bashful  modesty, — such  is  the 
sentence  pronounced  from  all  eternity  against  women  who  cheat 
themselves  of  happiness,  and  who  degrade  instead  of  purifying 
themselves  by  tenderness.  The  defenders  of  the  Russians  pretend 
that  at  Moscow  the  women  have  no  lovers ;  I  agree  with  them  : 
some  other  term  must  be  employed  to  designate  the  friends  whose 
intimacy  they  seek  in  the  absence  of  their  husbands. 
15* 


346  LIBERTINISM. 

I  repeat  that  I  am  disposed  to  doubt  many  things  of  this  kind 
that  are  told  to  me ;  but  I  cannot  doubt  that  they  are  related 
pleasantly  and  complacently  to  the  first  newly-arrived  foreigner ; 
and  the  air  of  triumph  in  the  narrator  seems  to  say — We  also, 
you  see,  are  civilised  ! 

The  more  I  consider  these  debauchees'  manner  of  life,  the 
more  I  wonder  at  the  social  position — to  use  the  language  of  the 
day — which  they  here  preserve,  notwithstanding  conduct  that  in 
any  other  land  would  shut  all  doors  against  them.  I  cannot  tell 
how  such  notorious  offenders  are  treated  in  their  own  families  ; 
but  I  can  testify  that,  in  public,  every  one  pays  them  peculiar 
deference :  their  appearance  is  the  signal  for  general  hilarity  ; 
their  company  is  the  delight  even  of  elderly  men,  who  do  not 
imitate  them,  but  who  certainly  encourage  them. 

In  observing  the  general  reception  which  they  receive,  I 
ask  myself  what  a  person  should  here  do  to  lose  credit  and  char- 
acter. 

By  a  procedure  altogether  contrary  to  that  observable  among 
free  people,  whose  manners  become  more  puritanical,  if  not  more 
pure,  in  proportion  as  democracy  gains  ground  in  the  constitution, 
corruptness  is  here  confounded  with  liberal  institutions ;  and  dis- 
tinguished men  of  bad  character  are  admired  as  is  with  us  a 

talented  opposition  or  minority.  The  young  Prince did  not 

commence  his  career  as  a  libertine  until  after  finishing  a  three- 
years'  exile  at  the  Caucasus,  where  the  climate  ruined  his  health. 
It  was  immediately  after  leaving  college  that  he  incurred  this 
penalty,  for  having  broken  the  window-panes  of  some  shops  in 
Petersburg.  The  government,  having  determined  to  see  a  poli- 
tical intention  in  this  harmless  riot,  has,  by  its  excessive  severity, 
converted  a  hair-brained  youth,  while  yet  a  child,  into  a  profligate, 
lost  to  his  country,  his  family,  and  himself.*  Such  are  the  aber- 
rations into  which  despotism — that  most  immoral  of  governments 
— can  drive  the  minds  of  men. 

Here  all  revolt  appears  legitimate ;  revolt  even  against  reason 
and  against  God  !  Where  order  is  oppressive,  disorder  has  its 
martyrs.  A  Lovelace,  a  Don  Juan,  or  yet  worse  if  it  were  possi- 
ble, would  be  viewed  as  a  kind  of  liberator,  merely  because  he 
had  incurred  legal  punishments.  The  blame  can  only  fall  on  the 
judge.  People  here  avow  their  hatred  of  morals  just  as  others 
would  elsewhere  say,  "  I  detest  arbitrary  government." 

*  I  have  been  assured,  since  my  return  to  France,  that  he  has  married, 
and  is  living  a  very  orderly  life. 


CONDITION    OF    THE    SERFS.  34*7 

I  brought  with  me  to  Russia  a  preconceived  opinion,  which  I 
possess  no  longer.  I  believed,  with  many  others,  that  autocracy 
derived  its  chief  strength  from  the  equality  which  it  caused  to 
reign  beneath  it.  But  this  equality  is  an  illusion.  I  said,  and 
heard  it  said,  that  when  one  man  is  all-powerful,  the  others  are  all 
equal,  that  is,  all  equally  nullities ;  which  equality,  if  not  a 
happiness,  is  a  consolation.  The  argument  was  too' logical  to 
prove  practically  true.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  absolute 
power  in  the  world  ;  there  are  arbitrary  and  capricious  powers ; 
but,  however  outrageous  they  may  become,  they  are  never 
heavy  enough  to  establish  perfect  equality  among  other  subjects. 

The  Emperor  Nicholas  can  do  every  thing.  But  if  he  often 
did  all  that  he  could  do,  he  would  not  retain  this  power  very 
long.  So  long,  therefore,  as  he  forbears,  the  condition  of  the 
nobleman  is  very  different  from  that  of  the  moujik  or  the  trades- 
man whom  he  ruins.  I  maintain  that  there  is  at  this  day,  in 
Russia,  more  real  inequality  in  the  conditions  of  men  than  in  any 
other  European  land. 

The  circumstances  of  human  societies  are  too  complicated  to 
be  submitted  to  the  rigour  of  mathematical  calculation.  I  can 
see  reigning  under  the  Emperor,  among  the  castes  which  consti- 
tute his  empire,  hatreds  which  have  their  source  solely  in  the 
abuses  of  secondary  power. 

In  general,  the  men  here  use  a  very  soft  and  specious  lan- 
guage. They  will  tell  you  with  the  most  benign  air  that  the  Rus- 
sian serfs  are  the  happiest  peasants  upon  earth.  Do  not  listen 
to  them,  they  deceive  you :  many  families  of  serfs  in  distant  can- 
tons suffer  even  from  hunger ;  many  perish  under  poverty  and 
ill-treatment.  In  every  class  in  Russia  humanity'  suffers ;  and 
the  men  who  are  sold  with  the  land  suffer  more  than  the  others. 
It  will  be  pretended  that  they  are  protected  by  a  legal  right  to 
the  necessaries  of  life ;  such  right  is  but  a  mockery  for  those 
who  have  no  means  of  enforcing  it. 

It  will  be  further  said  that  it  is  the  interest  of  the  nobles  to 
relieve  the  wants  of  their  peasants.  But  does  every  man  always 
understand  his  interests  ?  Among  us,  those  who  act  foolishly 
lose  their  fortunes,  and  there  is  the  end  of  it :  but  here,  as  the 
fortune  of  man  consists  in  the  life  of  a  number  of  men,  he  who 
mismanages  his  property  may  cause  whole  villages  to  perish  of 
famine.  The  government,  when  attracted  by  too  glaring  excess- 
es, sometimes  puts  the  unprincipled  nobleman  under  guardian- 
ship ;  but  this  ever-tardy  step  does  not  restore  the  dead.  The 
mass  of  sufferings  and  unknown  iniquities  that  must  be  produced 


348  CONDITION    OF    OTHER   CLASSES. 

by  such  manners  under  such  a  constitution,  with  so  great  dis- 
tances and  so  dreadful  a  climate,  may  be  easily  imagined.  It  is 
difficult  to  breathe  freely  in  Russia  when  we  think  of  all  these 
misc.ries. 

The  nobleman  has,  in  the  government  of  his  estates,  the  same 
difficulties  to  contend  with,  as  regards  the  distances  of  places, 
the  ignorance  of  facts,  the  influence  of  customs,  and  the  intrigues 
of  subalterns,  that  the  Emperor  has  in  his  wider  sphere  of  ac- 
tion; but  the  nobleman  has,  in  addition,  temptations  that  are 
more  difficult  to  resist ;  for  being  less  exposed  to  public  view,  he 
is  less  controlled  by  public  opinion  and  by  the  eye  of  Europe. 
From  this  firmly  established  order,  or  rather  disorder  of  things, 
there  result  inequalities,  caprices,  and  injustices,  unknown  to 
societies  where  the  law  alone  can  change  the  relations  of  so- 
ciety. 

It  is  not  correct,  then,  to  say  that  the  force  of  despotism  lies 
in  the  equality  of  its  victims ;  it  lies  only  in  the  ignorance  of 
liberty  and  in  the  fear  of  tyranny.  The  power  of  an  absolute 
master  is  a  monster  ever  ready  to  give  birth  to  a  yet  greater — the 
tyranny  of  the  people. 

It  is  true  that  democratic  anarchy  never  lasts ;  whilst  the  re- 
gularity produced  by  the.  abuses  of  autocracy  are  perpetuated 
from  generation  to  generation. 

Military  discipline,  applied  to  the  government  of  a  state,  is 
the  powerful  means  of  oppression,  which  constitutes,  far  more 
than  the  fiction  of  equality,  the  absolute  power  of  the  Russian 
sovereign.  But  this  formidable  force  will  sometimes  turn  against 
those  who  employ  it.  Such  are  the  evils  which  incessantly  men- 
ace Russia, — popular  anarchy  carried  to  its  most  frightful  excess, 
if  the  nation  revolt,  and  the  prolongation  of  tyranny,  applied 
with  more  or  less  rigour  according  to  times  and  circumstances, 
if  she  continue  in  her  obedience. 

Duly  to  appreciate  the  difficulties  in  the  political  position  of 
this  country,  we  must  not  forget  that  the  more  ignorant  the  peo- 
ple are,  and  the  longer  they  have  been  patient,  the  more  likely 
is  their  vengeance  to  be  dreadful.  A  government  which  wields 
power  by  maintaining  ignorance,  is  more  terrible  than  stable :  a 
feeling  of  uneasiness  in  the  nation — a  degraded  brutality  in  the 
army — terror  around  the  administration,  a  terror  shared  even  by 
those  who  govern — servility  in  the  church — hypocrisy  in  the  no- 
bility— ignorance  and  misery  among  the  people — and  Siberia  for 
them  all :  such  is  the  land  as  it  has  been  made  by  necessity, 
history,  nature,  and  a  Providence  ever  impenetrable  in  its  de- 
signs. 


POLITICAL    DIFFICULTIES.  349 

And  it  is  with  so  decayed  a  body  that  this  giant,  scarcely  yet 
emerged  out  of.  Asia,  endeavours  now  to  influence  by  his  weight 
the  balance  of  European  policy,  and  strives  to  rule  in  the  coun- 
cils of  the  West,  without  taking  into  account  the  progress  that 
European  diplomacy  has  made  in  sincerity  during  the  last  thirty 
years  ! 

At  Petersburg,  to  lie  is  still  to  perform  the  part  of  a  good 
citizen ;  to  speak  the  truth,  even  in  apparently  unimportant  mat- 
ters, is  to  conspire.  You  would  lose  the  favour  of  the  Emperor, 
if  you  were  to -observe  that  he  had  a  cold  in  his  head.* 

But  once  for  all,  what  is  it  that  can  have  induced  this  badly- 
armed  colossus  to  come  to  fight,  or  at  least  to  struggle,  in  the 
arena  of  ideas  with  which  it  does  not  sympathize — of  interests 
which  do  not  yet  exist  for  it  ? 

Simply  the  caprice  of  its  masters,  and  the  vainglory  of  a  few 
travelled  noblemen.  Unlucky  vanity  of  parvenus,  which  has  en- 
ticed the  government  to  run  blindfold  against  difficulties  that 
have  caused  modern  communities  to  recoil  backwards,  and  that 
have  made  them  regret  the  era  of  political  wars,  the  only  wars 
known  in  former  times  ! 

This  country  is  the  martyr  of  an  ambition  which  it  scarcely 
understands  ;  and,  all  wounded  as  it  is,  it  strives  to  maintain  a 
calm,  imposing  air.  What  a  part  has  its  head  to  maintain.  To 
defend  by  continual  artifices  a  glory  built  only  upon  fictions,  or 
at  least,  on  nothing  more  than  hopes  ! 

True  power,  beneficent  power,  has  no  need  of  artifices ;  but 
what  stratagems,  what  falsehoods,  what  disguises,  have  not  you 
Russians  to  avail  yourselves  of,  to  conceal  a  part  of  your  object, 
and  to  procure  toleration  for  the  other !  You  ! — the  regulators 
of  the  destiny  of  Europe !  you !  pretend  to  defend  the  cause  of 
civilisation  among  nations  super-civilised,  when  the  time  is  not 
yet  long  elapsed  since  you  were  yourselves  a  horde,  whose  only 
discipline  was  terror,  and  whose  commanders  were  savages  !  On 
searching  for  the  cause,  we  shall  find  that  all  these  vain  aspirations 


*  While  this  is  going  through  the  press,  the  Journal  des  Debats  is  pro- 
testing in  favour  of  a  Russian  who  has  ventured  to  print  in  a  pamphlet 
that  the  Romanoffs,  less  noble  than  he  is,  ascended  the  throne,  as  all  the 
world  knows,  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  by  means  of  an 
election  contested  with  the  Troubetzkoi  (who  were  first  elected),  and 
against  the  claims  of  several  other  great  families.  This  accession  was 
agreed  to  in  consideration  of  some  liberal  forms  introduced  into  the  con- 
stitution. The  world  has  seen  what  these  guarantees  have  done  for  Rus- 
sia. 


350  THE    SYSTEM    OF    PETER    THE    GREAT. 

are  nothing  more  than  the  inevitable  consequences  of  the  system 
of  false  civilisation  adopted  by  Peter  the  Great.  Russia  will  feel 
the  effects  of  that  man's  pride  long  after  she  has  ceased  to  admire 
his  greatness.  There  are  many  of  her  people  who  already  agree 
with  me,  without  daring  to  avow  it,  that  he  was  more  extra- 
ordinary than  heroic. 

If  the  Czar  Peter,  instead  of  amusing  himself  with  dressing  up 
bears  and  monkeys — if  Catherine  II.,  instead  of  meddling  with 
philosophy — if,  in  short,  all  the  Russian  sovereigns  had  wished 
to  civilize  their  nation  by  cautiously  cultivating  and  developing 
the  admirable  seed  which  God  had  implanted  in  the  hearts  of  this 
people — these  last  comers  from  Asia — they  would  have  less 
dazzled  Europe  ;  but  they  would  have  acquired  a  more  solid  and 
durable  glory  ;  and  we  should  now  see  them  pursuing  their  pro- 
vidential task  of  making  war  with  the  old  Asiatic  governments. 
Turkey  in  Europe  herself  would  have  submitted  to  their  influence, 
without  the  other  states  being  able  to  complain  of  such  extension 
of  a  power  really  beneficent.  Instead  of  this  irresistible  strength 
Russia  has,  among  us,  the  power  only  that  we  accord  to  her — 
the  power  of  an  upstart,  more  or  less  skilful  in  making  us  forget 
her  origin.  The  sovereignty  over  neighbours  more  barbarous  and 
more  slavish  than  herself  is  her  due  and  her  destiny  :  it  is  written, 
if  I  may  use  the  expression,  in  her  future  chronicles ;  but  her  in- 
fluence over  more  advanced  people  is  contingent  and  uncertain. 

However,  this  nation  once  launched  on  the  great  high  road  of 
civilization,  nothing  will  be  able  to  make  her  return  to  her 
own  line.  God  alone  knows  the  result.  Peter  the  Great,  it  must 
be  remembered,  or  rather  Peter  the  Impatient,  was  the  cause  of 
her  error.  The  world  will  also  not  forget  that  the  only  insti- 
tutions whence  Russian  liberty  could  have  sprung — the  two 
chambers — were  abolished  by  that  prince. 

In  politics,  arts,  sciences,  and  all  other  branches  of  human 
attainment,  men  are  only  great  by  comparison.  It  is  owing  to 
this  that  there  are  some  ages  and  some  countries  in  which  people 
have  become  great  men  with  very  little  difficulty.  The  Czar 
Peter  appeared  in  one  of  those  epochs  and  countries ;  not  but 
that  he  also  possessed  extraordinary  energy  of  character,  but  his 
minute  mind  limited  his  views. 

I  leave  to-morrow  for  Nijni.  Were  I  to  prolong  my  stay  in 
Moscow,  I  should  not  see  this  fair,  which  is  drawing  to  a  close. 
I  shall  not  conclude  the  present  chapter  until  after  my  return 
this  evening  from  Petrovski,  where  I  am  going  to  hear  the  Rus- 
sian gipsies. 


SONGS    OF    THE    RUSSIAN    GIPSIES.  351 

I  have  been  selecting  a  room  in  the  hotel,  which  I  shall  con- 
tinue to  keep  during  my  absence  at  Nijni ;  having  made  it  a 
hiding-place  for  my  papers :  for  I  dare  not  venture  on  the  road 
to  Kazan  with  all  that  I  have  written  since  I  left  Petersburg ; 
and  I  know  no  one  here  to  whom  I  should  like  to  confide  these 
dangerous  chapters.  Exactness  in  the  recital  of  facts,  indepen- 
dence in  the  judgments  formed,  truth,  in  short,  is  more  suspi- 
cious than  any  thing  else  in  Russia  :  it  is  truth  which  peoples 
Siberia,  not,  however,  to  the  exclusion  of  robbery  and  murder,  an 
association  which  frightfully  aggravates  the  fate  of  political  of- 
fenders. 


I  have  returned  from  Petrovski,  where  I  saw  the  dancing- 
saloon,  which  is  beautiful ;  it  is  called,  I  believe,  the  Vauxhall. 
Before  the  opening  of  the  ball,  which  appeared  a  dull  affair,  I 
was  taken  to  hear  the  Russian  gipsies.  Their  wild  and  impas- 
sioned song  has  some  distant  resemblance  to  that  of  the  Spanish 
gitanos.  The  melodies  of  the  North  are  less  lively,  less  volup- 
tuous, than  those  of  Andalusia,  but  they  produce  a  more  pro- 
foundly pensive  impression.  There  are  some  which  mean  to  be 
gay,  but  they  are  more  melancholy  than  the  others.  The  gipsies 
of  Moscow  sing,  without  instruments,  pieces  which  possess  ori- 
ginality ;  but  when  the  meaning  of  the  words  that  accompany 
this  expressive  and  national  music  is  not  understood,  much  of  the 
effect  is  lost. 

I  found  the  national  opera  a  detestable  exhibition,  though  rep- 
resented in  a  very  handsome  hall.  The  piece  was  The  God  and 
the  Bayadere,  translated  into  Russian  !  What  is  the  use  of  em- 
ploying the  language  of  the  country  further  to  disfigure  a  Parisian 
libretto  ? 

There  is  also  at  Moscow  a  French  theatre,  where  M.  Hervet, 
whose  mother  had  a  name  in  Paris,  plays  the  parts  of  Boufie  very 
naturally.  I  saw  Michel  Perrin  given  by  this  actor  with  a  sim- 
plicity and  a  gusto  which  greatly  pleased  me,  notwithstanding  my 
recollections  of  the  Gymnase.  When  a  piece  is  really  spirit uelle, 
there  are  several  styles  of  performing  it.  The  works  which  are 
lost  in  foreign  lands  are  those  in  which  the  author  depends  upon 
the  actor  for  the  spirit  of  his  character ;  and  this  has  not  been 
done  by  Messieurs  Melesville  and  Duveyrier  in  the  Michel  Perrin 
of  Madame  de  Bawr.  I  am  ignorant  how  far  the  Russians  under- 
stand our  theatre :  I  do  not  put  much  faith  in  the  pleasure  which 


352  A    RUSSIAN    IN    HIS    LIBRARY. 

they  appear  to  feel  on  seeing  representations  of  French  comedies  ; 
they  have  so  fine  a  tact  that  they  guess  the  fashion  before  it  is 
proclaimed  to  them ;  this  spares  them  the  humiliation  of  owning 
that  they  follow  it.  The  delicacy  of  their  ear,  and  the  varied 
inflections  of  the  vowels,  the  multiplicity  of  the  consonants,  and  the 
numerous  hissing  sounds  in  which  they  are  exercised  in  speaking 
their  own  tongue,  accustom  them  from  infancy  to  master  all  the 
difficulties  of  pronunciation.  Those,  even,  who  only  know  a  few 
words  of  French,  pronounce  them  as  we  do.  This  often  deceives 
us  :  we  imagine  that  they  understand  our  language  as  well  as  they 
speak  it,  which  is  a  great  error.  The  small  number  who  have 
travelled,  or  have  been  born  in  a  rank  where  education  is  necessa- 
rily carefully  directed,  alone  understand  the  niceties  of  Parisian 
intellectual  conversation.  Our  delicate  strokes  of  wit  are  lost  on 
the  mass.  We  distrust  other  foreigners,  because  their  accent  of 
our  language  is  disagreeable,  and  appears  to  us  ridiculous ;  and 
yet,  notwithstanding  the  labour  with  which  they  speak  it,  they 
understand  us  better  and  less  superficially  than  the  Russians, 
whose  soft  and  imperceptible  cantilene  at  first  deceives  us.  As 
soon  as  they  begin  to  talk  carelessly,  to  relate-  a  story,  or  to  mi- 
nutely describe  a  personal  impression,  the  illusion  ceases,  and  the 
deception  is  discovered  But  they  are  the  cleverest  people  in  the 
world  at  concealing  their  deficiencies:  in  intimate  society  this 
diplomatic  talent  is  wearisome. 

A  Russian  showed  me  yesterday,  in  his  cabinet,  a  little  portable 
library,  which  struck  me  as  a  model  of  good  taste.  I  approached 
the  collection  to  open  a  volume  the  appearance  of  which  had 
attracted  me ;  it  was  an  Arabic  manuscript,  bound  in  old  parch- 
ment. "  You  are  greatly  to  be  envied ;  you  understand  Arabic  ?  " 
I  said  to  the  master  of  the  house.  "  No,"  he  answered ;  "  but  I 
always  have  every  kind  of  book  around  me :  it  sets  off  a  room, 
you  know." 

Scarcely  had  this  ingenuous  confession  escaped  him  than  the  in- 
voluntary expression  of  my  face  caused  him  to  perceive  that  he 
had  forgotten  himself;  whereupon,  feeling  very  sure  of  my  igno- 
rance, he  set  about  translating  to  me  a  few  pretended  passages  of 
the  manuscript,  and  did  it  with  a  volubility,  a  fluency,  and  an 
address,  which  would  have  deceived  me,  had  not  his  previous  dis- 
simulation, and  the  embarrassment  which  he  betrayed  on  my  first 
perceiving  it,  put  me  on  my  guard.  I  clearly  saw  that  he  wished 
to  obliterate  the  effect  of  his  frank  avowal,  and  to  impress  me  with 
the  idea,  without  his  actually  stating  it,  that  in  making  such  con- 
fession he  had  only  been  joking.  The  artifice,  skilful  as  it  was, 
failed  in  its  object. 


VANITY    OF    THE    RUSSIANS.  353 

These  are  the  childish  stratagems  of  a  people  whose  restless 
self-love  urges  them  to  a  rivalry  with  the  civilisation  of  more 
ancient  nations. 

There  is  no  kind  of  artifice  or  falsehood  of  which  their  de- 
vouring vanity  is  not  capable,  in  the  hope  that  we  shall  be  induced 
to  say,  on  returning  to  our  several  countries,  "  It  is  a  great  mis- 
take to  call  these  people  the  barbarians  of  the  North."  This 
appellation  is  never  out  of  their  heads  ;  they  remind  strangers 
of  it  on  every  occasion  with  an  ironical  humility ;  and  they  do 
not  perceive  that  their  very  susceptibility  on  the  point  furnishes 
their  detractors  with  arms  against  them. 

I  have  hired  one  of  the  carriages  of  the  country  to  travel  in 
to  Nijui,  in  order  to  save  my  own  :  it  is  a  species  of  tarandasse 
on  springs*,  but  scarcely  more  substantial  than  my  caleche.  This 
was  the  remark  of  a  person  who  has  just  been  to  aid  me  in  expe- 
diting my  departure.  "  You  alarm  me,"  I  replied  ;  "  for  I  am 
tired  of  breaking  down  at  every  stage." 

"  For  a  long  journey  I  should  advise  you  to  get  another,  if, 
at  least,  one  could  be  found  in  Moscow  at  the  present  season, 
but  the  trip  is  so  short  that  this  will  serve  your  purpose." 

This  short  trip,  including  the  return,  and  the  detour  that  I 
purpose  making  by  Troitza  and  Yarowslaf,  is  one  of  four  hundred 
leagues,  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  which,  the  roads  are,  I  am 
told,  detestable,  abounding  with  logs  and  stumps  of  trees  buried 
in  the  mud,  deep  sands  full  of  loose  stones,  &c.,  &c.  By  the 
manner  in  which  the  Russians  speak  of  distances,  it  is  easy  to 
perceive  they  inhabit  a  land  large  as  Europe,  and  of  which  Sibe- 
ria is  a  part. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  traits  in  their  character,  at  least 
in  ray  opinion,  is  their  dislike  to  objections :  they  refuse  to 
recognize  either  difficulties  or  obstacles. 

The  common  people  participate  in  this,  it  may  be,  a  little 
gasconading  humour,  of  the  nobility.  With  his  hatchet,  which 
he  never  lays  aside,  a  Russian  peasant  triumphs  over  accidents 
and  predicaments  which  would  altogether  stop  the  villagers  of 
our  own  provinces  ;  and  he  answers  "  yes  "  to  everything  that 
is  demanded  of  him. 

*  The  real  tarandasse  is  the  body  of  a  caliche  placed,  without  springs, 
on  two  shafts,  which  join  together  the  axletrees  of  the  front  and  hind 
wheels. 


854  ROADS    IN    THE    INTERIOR. 


CHAPTER  XXVL* 

Roads  in  the  Interior— Farms  and  Country  Mansions— Monotony  the  great  Characteristic  of 
the  Land— Pastoral  Life  of  the  Peasants— Beauty  of  the  Women  and  old  Men— Policy 
attributed  to  the  Poles.— A  Night  at  the  Convent  ol  Troitza— Pestalozzi  on  Personal  Clean- 
liness—Interior of  the  Convent— Pilgrims— Tombs  and  Treasures— Inconveniences  of  a 
Journey  in  Russia— Bad  Quality  of  the  Water— Want  of  Probiiy  a  national  Characteristic. 

IF  we  are  to  believe  the  Russians,  all  their  roads  are  good  during 
the  summer  season,  even  those  that  are  not  the  great  highways. 
I  find  them  all  bad.  A  road  full  of  inequalities,  sometimes 
as  broad  as  a  field,  sometimes  extremely  narrow,  passes  through 
beds  of  sand,  in  which  the  horses  plunge  above  their  knees,  lose 
their  wind,  break  their  traces,  and  refuse  to  draw  at  every  twenty 
yards  ;  if  these  sands  are  passed,  you  soon  plunge  into  pools  of 
mud  which  conceal  large  stones  and  enormous  stumps  of  trees, 
that  are  very  destructive  to  the  carriages.  Such  are  the  roads 
of  this  land,  except  during  seasons  when  they  become  absolutely 
impassable,  when  the  extreme  of  cold  renders  travelling  danger- 
ous, when  storms  of  snow  bury  the  country,  or  when  floods,  pro- 
duced by  the  thaw,  transform,  for  about  three  months  in  the 
year,  the  low  plains  into  lakes  ;  namely,  for  about  six  weeks  after 
the  summer,  and  for  as  many  after  the  winter  season ;  the  rest 
of  the  year  they  continue  marshes.  The  landscape  remains  the 
same.  The  villages  still  present  the  same  double  line  of  small 
wooden  houses,  more  or  less  ornamented  with  painted  carvings  ; 
their  gable  always  faces  the  street,  and  they  are  flanked  with  a 
kind  of  enclosed  court,  or  large  shed  open  on  one  side.  The 
country  still  continues  the  same  monotonous  though  undulating 
plain,  sometimes  marshy,  sometimes  sandy ;  a  few  fields,  wide 
pasture-ranges  bounded  by  forests  of  fir,  now  at  a  distance,  now 
close  upon  the  road,  sometimes  well  grown,  more  frequently  scat- 
tered and  stunted  :  such  is  the  aspect  of  all  these  vast  regions. 
Here  and  there  is  to  be  seen  a  country-house,  or  large  and  man- 
sion-like farm,  to  which  an  avenue  of  birch-trees  forms  the  ap- 
proach. These  are  the  manor-houses,  or  residences  of  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  land ;  and  the  traveller  welcomes  them  on  the 
road  as  he  would  an  oasis  in  the  desert. 

In  some  provinces  the  cottages  are  built  of  clay ;  in  which 
case  their  appearance  is  more  miserable,  though  still  similar  in 
general  character  :  but  from  one  end  of  the  empire  to  the  other, 

*  "Written  at  the  convent  of  Troitza,  twenty  leagues  from  Moscow, 
17th  of  August. 


BEAUTY    OF    THE    WOMEN    AND    OLD    MEN.  355 

the  greater  number  of  the  rustic  dwellings  are  constructed  of 
long  and  thick  beams,  carelessly  hewn,  but  carefully  caulked  with 
moss  and  resin.  The  Crimea,  a  country  altogether  southern,  is 
an  exception ;  but,  as  compared  to  the  whole  empire,  that  coun- 
try is  but  a  point  lost  in  immensity. 

Monotony  is  the  divinity  of  Russia ;  yet  even  this  monotony 
has  a  certain  charm  for  minds  capable  of  enjoying  solitude ;  the 
silence  is  profound  in  these  unvarying  scenes  ;  and  sometimes  it 
becomes  sublime  on  a  desert  plain,  of  which  the  only  boundaries 
are  our  power  of  vision. 

The  distant  forest,  it  is  true,  presents  no  variety  :  it  is  not 
beautiful :  but  who  can  fathom  it  ?  When  we  remember  that  its 
only  boundary  is  the  wall  of  China,  we  feel  a  kind  of  reverence. 
Nature,  like  music,  draws  a  part  of  her  potent  charm  from  repeti- 
tions. Singular  mystery  ! — by  means  of  uniformity  she  multi- 
plies impressions.  In  seeking  for  too  much  novelty  and  variety 
there  is  danger  of  finding  only  the  insipid  and  the  clumsy,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  case  of  modern  musicians  devoid  of  genius ;  but 
on  the  contrary,  when  the  artist  braves  the  danger  of  simplicity, 
art  becomes  as  sublime  as  nature.  The  classic  style — I  use  the 
word  in  its  ancient  acceptation— has  little  variety. 

Pastoral  life  has  always  a  peculiar  charm.  Its  calm  and 
regular  occupations  accord  with  the  primitive  character  of  men, 
and  for  a  long  time  preserve  the  youth  of  races.  The  herdsmen, 
who  never  leave  their  native  districts,  are  unquestionably  the 
least  unhappy  of  the  Russians.  Their  beauty  alone,  which  be- 
comes more  striking  as  I  approach  the  government  of  Yarowslaf, 
speaks  well  of  their  mode  of  life. 

I  have  met — which  is  a  novelty  to  me  in  Russia — several 
extremely  pretty  peasant-girls,  with  golden  hair,  excessively  de- 
licate and  scarcely  coloured  complexions,  and  eyes,  which  though 
of  a  light  blue,  are  expressive,  owing  to  their  Asiatic  form  and 
their  languishing  glances.  If  these  young  virgins,  with  features 
similar  to  those  of  Greek  madonnas,  had  the  tournure  and  the 
vivacity  of  movement  observable  in  the  Spanish  women,  they 
would  be  the  most  seductive  creatures  upon  earth.  Many  of  the 
females  in  this  district  are  handsomely  dressed.  They  wear  over 
the  petticoat  a  little  habit  or  pelisse  bordered  with  fur,  which 
reaches  to  the  knee,  sits  well  to  the  shape,  and  imparts  a  grace 
to  the  whole  person. 

In  no  country  have  I  seen  so  many  beautiful  bald  heads  and 
silver  hairs  as  in  this  part  of  Russia.  The  heads  of  Jehovah, 
those  chefs-d^uvre  of  the  first  pupil  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  are 


366  OLD    MEN. 

not  such  entirely  ideal  conceptions  as  I  imagined  when  I  admired 
the  frescoes  of  Luini  at  Lainate,  Lugano,  and  Milan.  These 
heads  may  be  here  recognised,  living.  Seated  in  the  thresholds 
of  their  cabins,  I  have  beheld  old  men,  with  fresh  complexions, 
unwrinkled  cheeks,  blue,  sparkling  eyes,  calm  countenances,  and 
silver  beards  glistening  in  the  sun  round  mouths  the  peaceful 
arid  benevolent  smile  of  which  they  heighten,  who  appear  like  so 
many  protecting  deities  placed  at  the  entrance  of  the  villages. 
The  traveller,  as  he  passes,  is  saluted  by  these  noble  figures,  ma- 
jestically seated  on  the  earth  which  saw  them  born.  Truly  an- 
tique statues,  emblems  of  hospitality  which  a  Pagan  would  have 
worshipped,  and  which  Christians  must  admire  with  an  involun- 
tary respect :  for  in  old  age  beauty  is  no  longer  physical ;  it  is 
the  depicted  triumph  of  the  soul  after  victory. 

We  must  go  among  the  Russian  peasants  to  find  the  pure 
image  of  patriarchal  society ;  and  to  thank  God  for  the  happy 
existence  he  has  dispensed,  nothwithstanding  the  faults  of  gov- 
ernments, to  these  inoffensive  beings,  whose  birth  and  death  are 
only  separated  by  a  long  series  of  years  of  innocence. 

May  the  angel,  or  demon  of  industry  and  of  modern  enlight- 
ened views,  pardon  me  ! — but  I  cannot  help  finding  a  great  charm 
in  ignorance,  when  I  see  its  fruits  in  the  celestial  countenances 
of  the  old  Russian  peasants. 

The  modern  patriarchs,  labourers  whose  work  is  no  longer  a 
compulsory  task,  seat  themselves,  with  dignity,  towards  the  close 
of  the  day,  in  the  threshold  of  the  cottage  which  they  themselves 
have,  perhaps,  rebuilt  several  times  ;  for,  under  this  severe  cli- 
mate, the  house  of  man  does  not  last  so  long  as  his  life.  Were 
I  to  carry  back  from  my  Russian  journey  no  other  recollection 
than  that  of  these  old  men,  with  quiet  consciences  legible  on  their 
faces,  leaning  against  doors  that  want  no  bolt,  I  should  not  re- 
gret the  trouble  I  had  taken  to  come  and  gaze  upon  beings  so 
different  from  any  other  peasants  in  the  world.  The  majesty 
of  the  cottage  will  always  inspire  me  with  profound  respect. 

Every  fixed  government,  however  bad  it  may  be  in  some  re- 
spects, has  its  good  results ;  and  every  governed  people  have 
something  wherewith  to  console  themselves  for  the  sacrifices  they 
make  to  social  life. 

And  yet,  at  the  bottom  of  this  calm  which  I  so  much  admire, 
and  which  I  feel  so  contagious,  what  disorder  !  what  violence  ! 
what  false  security ! 

I  had  written  thus  much,  when  an  individual  of  my  acquaint- 
ance, in  whose  words  I  place  confidence,  having  left  Moscow  a 


POLICY  OF  THE  POLES.  357 

few  hours  after  me,  arived  at  Troitza,  and,  knowing  that  I  was 
going  to  pass  the  night  here,  asked  to  see  me  while  his  horses 
were  changing:  he  confirmed  to  me  news  that  I  had  already 
heard,  of  eighty  villages  having  been  just  burnt,  in  the  government 
of  Sembirsk,  in  consequence  of  the  revolt  of  the  peasants.  The 
Russians  attribute  these  troubles  to  the  intrigues  of  the  Poles. 
"  What  interest  have  the  Poles  in  burning  Russia?"  I  asked 
the  person  who  related  to  me  the  fact.  "  None,"  he  replied,  "  un- 
less it  be  that  they  hope  to  draw  upon  themselves  the  wrath  of 
the  Russian  government :  their  only  fear  is  that  they  should  be 
left  in  peace." 

"  You  call  to  my  recollection,"  I  observed,  "  the  band  of  in- 
cendiaries who,  at  the  commencement  of  our  first  revolution, 
accused  the  aristocrats  of  burning  their  own  chateaux."  "  You 
will  not  believe  me,"  replied  the  Russian,  "  but  I  know,  by  close 
observation  and  by  experience,  that  every  time  the  Poles  observe 
the  Emperor  inclining  towards  clemency,  they  form  new  plots, 
send  among  us  disguised  emissaries,  and  even  feign  conspiracies 
when  they  cannot  excite  real  ones ;  all  of  which  they  do  solely 
with  a  view  of  drawing  upon  their  country  the  hate  of  Russia, 
and  of  provoking  new  sentences  for  themselves  and  their  country- 
men :  in  fact  they  dread  nothing  so  much  as  pardon,  because  the 
gentleness  of  the  Russian  government  would  change  the  feelings 
of  their  peasants,  who  would  soon  be  induced  even  to  love  the 
enemy" 

u  This  appears  to  me  heroical  machiavelism,"  I  replied  ;  "  but 
I  cannot  believe  in  it.  If  it  be  true,  why  do  you  not  pardon  them 
in  order  to  punish  them  ?  You  would  be  then  more  adroit,  as 
you  are  already  more  powerful,  than  they.  But  you  hate  them  : 
and  I  am  much  inclined  to  believe  that,  to  justify  your  rancour, 
you  accuse  the  victims,  and  search,  in  every  misfortune  that  hap- 
pens to  them,  some  pretext  for  laying  your  yoke  more  heavily 
upon  adversaries  whose  ancient  glory  is  an  unpardonable  crime ; 
the  more  so,  as  it  must  be  owned  that  Polish  glory  was  not  very 
modest." 

"  Not  a  whit  more  so  than  French  glory,"  maliciously  re- 
sponded my  friend,  whom  I  had  known  in  Paris  :  "  but  you  judge 
unfairly  of  our  policy,  because  you  neither  understand  the  Rus- 
sians nor  the  Poles." 

"  This  is  always  the  burden  of  your  countrymen's  song  when- 
ever any  one  ventures  to  tell  them  unpleasant  truths.  The  Poles 
are  easily  known ;  they  are  always  talking :  I  can  trust  in  boast- 
ers better  than  in  those  who  say  nothing  but  what  we  do  not  care 
to  know." 


358  A    NIGHT    AT    THE 

<£  You  must,  however,  have  a  good  deal  of  confidence  in  me  !  " 

"  In  you,  personally,  I  have  ;  but  when  I  recollect  that  you  are 
a  Russian,  even  though  I  have  known  you  ten  years,  I  reproach 
myself,  with  my  imprudence — I  mean  my  candour." 

"  I  foresee  that  you  will  give  a  bad  account  of  us,  on  your  re- 
turn home." 

"  If  I  write,  I  perhaps  may ;  but,  as  you  say,  I  do  not  know 
the  Russians,  and  I  shall  take  care  not  to  speak  at  random  of  so 
impenetrable  a  nation." 

"  That  will  be  the  best  course  for  you  to  pursue." 

"  No  doubt ;  but  I  do  not  forget,  that  when  once  known  to 
dissimulate,  the  most  reserved  men  are  appreciated  as  if  already 
unmasked." 

u  You  are  too  satirical  and  discriminating  for  barbarians  such 
as  we." 

Whereupon  my  old  friend  re-entered  his  carriage,  and  went 
off  at  full  gallop. 

Troitza  is,  after  Kiew,  the  most  famous  and  best-frequented 
place  of  pilgrimage  in  Russia.  This  historical  monastery,  situ- 
ated twenty  leagues  from  Moscow,  was,  I  thought,  of  sufficient 
interest  to  allow  of  my  losing  a  day,  and  passing  a  night  there, 
in  order  to  visit  the  sanctuaries  revered  by  the  Russian  Chris- 
tians. 

To  acquit  myself  of  the  task  required  a  strong  effort  of 
reason  :  after  such  a  night  as  the  one  I  have  passed,  curiosity 
becomes  extinguished,  physical  disgust  overcomes  every  other 
feeling. 

I  had  been  assured  at  Moscow  that  I  would  find  at  Troitza  a 
very  tolerable  lodging.  In  fact,  the  building  where  strangers  are 
accommodated,  a  kind  of  inn  belonging  to  the  convent,  but  situ- 
ated beyond  the  sacred  precinct,  is  a  spacious  structure,  and  con- 
tains chambers  apparently  very  habitable.  Nevertheless,  I  had 
scarcely  retired  to  rest,  when  I  found  all  my  ordinary  precautions 
inefficient.  I  had  kept  a  candle  burning  as  usual,  and  by  its  light 
I  passed  the  night  in  making  war  with  an  army  of  vermin,  black 
and  brown,  of  every  form,  and,  I  believe,  of  every  species.  The 
death  of  one  of  them  seemed  to  draw  on  me  the  vengeance  of  the 
whole  race,  who  rushed  upon  the  place  where  the  blood  had  flowed, 
and  drove  me  almost  to  desperation.  "  They  only  want  wings 
to  make  this  place  hell,"  was  the  exclamation  which  escaped  me 
in  my  rage.  These  insects  are  the  legacy  of  the  pilgrims  who  re- 
pair to  Troitza  from  every  part  of  the  empire  ;  they  multiply 
under  the  shelter  of  the  shrine  of  St.  Sergius,  the  founder  of  the 


CONVENT    OF    TROITZA.  359 

famous  convent.  The  benediction  of  Heaven  seems  to  attend 
their  increase,  which  proceeds  in  this  sacred  asylum  at  a  ratio  un- 
known elsewhere.  Seeing  the  legions  with  which  I  had  to  com- 
bat, I  lost  all  courage  :  my  skin  was  burning,  my  blood  boiled ; 
I  felt  myself  devoured  by  imperceptible  enemies,  and  in  my 
agony  I  fancied  that  I  should  prefer  fighting  an  army  of  tigers  to 
this  small  pest  of  beggars,  aud  too  often  of  saints  ;  for  extreme 
austerity  sometimes  marches  hand  in  hand  with  filthiness — im- 
pious alliance  !  against  which  the  real  friends  of  God  cannot  pro- 
test sufficiently  loudly. 

I  rose  up,  and  found  calm  for  a  moment  at  the  open  window ; 
but  the  scourge  followed  me — chairs,  tables,  ceiling,  floor,  walls, 
were  teeming  with  life.  My  valet  entered  my  room  before  the 
usual  hour;  he  had  suffered  the  same  agonies,  and  even  greater; 
for  not  wishing,  nor  being  able  to  add  to  the  size  of  our  baggage, 
he  has  no  bedstead,  and  places  his  paillasse  on  the  floor,  in  pre- 
ference to  the  sofas  with  all  their  accessories.  If  I  dwell  upon 
these  inconveniences,  it  is  because  they  form  a  just  accompani- 
ment to  the  boastings  of  the  Russians,  and  serve  to  show  the 
degree  of  civilisation  to  which  the  people  of  this  finest  part  of  the 
empire  have  attained.  On  seeing  poor  Antonio  enter  the  room, 
his  eyes  closed  up  and  his  face  swollen,  I  had  no  need  of  inquiring 
the  cause.  Without  uttering  a  word,  he  exhibited  to  me  a  cloak 
that  had  been  blue  the  evening  before,  but  was  now  become 
brown :  after  he  had  placed  it  on  a  chair,  I  perceived  that  it  was 
moveable :  at  this  sight,  horror  seized  us  both :  air,  water,  fire, 
and  all  the  elements  were  put  in  requisition ;  though  in  such  a 
war  victory  itself  is  a  loss.  At  length,  purified  and  dressed,  I 
made  a  shadow  of  a  breakfast,  and  repaired  to  the  convent,  where 
another  army  of  enemies  awaited  me  :  but  this  time,  the  light 
cavalry  quartered  in  the  folds  of  the  Greek  monks'  gowns  did  not 
inspire  me  with  the  slightest  fear ;  I  had  sustained  the  assaults 
of  much  more  formidable  combatants.  After  the  battle  of  the 
night,  the  skirmishes  of  the  day  appeared  to  me  a  mere  child's 
play  :  to  speak  without  metaphor,  the  bites  of  bugs,  and  the  dread 
of  lice,  had  so  hardened  me  against  the  attacks  of  fleas,  that  I 
felt  no  more  annoyance  from  the  light  clouds  of  these  creatures 
that  played  at  our  feet  in  the  churches  of  the  convent,  than  I 
should  have  felt  from  the  dust  of  the  road.  This  past  night  has 
awakened  all  my  feelings  of  pity  for  the  unhappy  Frenchmen 
who  remained  prisoners  in  Russia  after  the  retreat  from  Moscow. 
Vermin,  that  inevitable  product  of  poverty,  is  of  all  physical 
evils  the  one  which  inspires  me  with  the  deepest  compassion. 


300  INTERIOR    OF    THE    CONVENT. 

When  I  hear  it  said  of  a  human  being,  he  is  in  such  wretched- 
ness that  he  is  dirty,  my  heart  bleeds.  Personal  dirtiness  is 
something  viler  even  than  it  appears.  It  betrays,  to  the  eyes  of 
an  attentive  observer,  a  moral  degradation  worse  than  all  bodily 
evils  put  together.  This  leprosy,  for  being  to  a  certain  extent 
voluntary,  is  only  the  more  loathsome  :  it  is  a  phenomenon  which 
springs  from  our  two  natures;  it  embraces  both  the  moral  and  the 
physical ;  it  is  the  result  of  an  infirmity  of  soul  as  well  as  of 
body ;  it  is  at  once  a  vice  and  a  malady. 

I  have  often,  in  my  travels,  had  reason  to  remember  the  saga- 
cious observations  of  Pestalozzi,  that  great  practical  philosopher, 
the  preceptor  of  the  working  classes  before  Fourier  and  the  Saint 
Simonians.  According  to  his  observations  on  the  life  of  the 
lower  orders,  of  two  men  who  have  the  same  habits  of  life,  one 
will  be  dirty,  the  other  clean.  Personal  cleanliness  has  as  much 
to  do  with  the  health  and  the  natural  habit  of  body,  as  with  the 
personal  habits  of  the  individual.  Do  we  not  often  see  among 
the  better  classes,  people  who  take  great  pains  with  their  persons, 
and  who  are  yet  very  dirty  ?  Among  the  Russians  there  reigns 
a  high  degree  of  sordid  negligence :  it  seems  to  me  they  must 
have  trained  their  vermin  to  survive  the  bath. 

Notwithstanding  my  ill-humour,  I  went  carefully  over  the 
interior  of  the  patriotic  convent  of  the  Trinity.  It  does  not  pos- 
sess the  imposing  aspect  of  our  old  Gothic  monasteries.  The 
architecture  is  not  the  object  that  should  bring  people  to  a  sacred 
place  ;  yet  if  these  famous  sanctuaries  were  worth  the  trouble  of 
being  looked  at,  they  would  lose  none  of  their  sanctity,  nor  the 
pilgrims  of  their  merits. 

The  convent  stands  on  an  eminence,  and  resembles  a  town 
surrounded  with  strong  walls,  mounted  with  battlements.  Like 
the  convents  of  Moscow,  it  has  gilded  spires  and  cupolas,  which, 
shining  in  the  evening  sun,  announce  to  the  pilgrims,  from  afar, 
the  end  of  their  pious  journey. 

During  the  fine  season,  the  surrounding  roads  are  crowded 
with  travellers,  marching  in  procession.  In  the  villages,  groups 
of  the  faithful  are  to  be  seen  eating  and  sleeping  under  the  shade 
of  the  birch-trees  ;  and  at  every  step,  a  peasant  may  be  met  walk- 
ing in  a  species  of  sandal,  made  of  the  bark  of  the  lime-tree ;  a 
female  often  accompanies  him,  carrying  his  shoes  in  her  hand, 
whilst  with  the  other  she  shields  herself  with  an  umbrella  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  which  the  Muscovites  dread  in  summer  more 
than  the  inhabitants  of  the  South.  A  kibitka,  drawn  by  one 
horse,  follows,  and  contains  the  sleeping  appurtenances,  and  the 


PILGRIMS.  G61 

utensils  with  which  to  prepare  tea.  The  kibitka  doubtless  re- 
sembles the  chariot  of  the  ancient  Sarmatians.  The  equipage  is 
constructed  with  primitive  simplicity;  it  consists  of  the  half  of  a 
cask  severed  lengthways,  and  placed  upon  axles  resembling  the 
frame  of  a  cannon. 

The  countrymen  and  women,  who  know  how  to  sleep  any 
where  except  in  a  bed,  travel,  stretched  at  their  ease,  in  these 
light  and  picturesque  vehicles  :  sometimes  one  of  the  pilgrims, 
watching  over  the  sleepers,  sits  with  his  legs  hanging  over  the 
edge  of  the  kibitka,  and  lulls  with  national  songs  his  dreaming 
comrades.  In  these  dull  and  plaintive  melodies,  the  sentiments 
of  regret  prevail  over  those  of  hope ;  their  expression  is  melan- 
choly, but  never  impassioned :  every  thing  is  repressed,  every 
thing  betrays  prudence  in  this  naturally  light  and  cheerful  peo- 
ple, rendered  taciturn  by  education.  If  I  did  not  view  the  fate 
of  nations  as  written  in  heaven,  I  should  say  that  the  Sclavonians 
were  born  to  people  a  more  generous  soil  than  the  one  on  which 
they  established  themselves  when  they  came  forth  from  Asia, 
that  great  nursery  of  nations. 

The  first  oppressor  of  the  Russians  was  the  climate.  With 
every  respect  for  Montesquieu,  extreme  cold  appears  to  me  more 
favourable  to  despotism  than  heat :  the  men,  the  freest  perhaps 
on  the  face  of  the  earth — are  they  not  the  Arabs  ?  The  rigours 
of  nature  inspire  man  with  rudeness  and  cruelty. 

On  leaving  the  hostelry  of  the  convent  I  crossed  an  open 
square,  and  entered  the  monastic  walls.  After  passing  under  an 
alley  of  trees,  I  found  myself  among  several  little  churches,  sur- 
named  cathedrals,  with  high  steeples  dividing  them  from  one 
another ;  while  numerous  chapels,  and  ranges  of  dwellings  wherein 
are  now  lodged  the  disciples  of  Saint  Sergius,  were  scattered 
around  without  design  or  order. 

All  the  names  of  note  in  Russian  history  have  taken  pleasure 
in  enriching  the  convent,  which  overflows  with  gold,  pearls,  and 
diamonds.  The  universe  has  been  placed  under  contribution  to 
swell  the  pile  of  wealth  that  forms  one  of  the  miracles  of  the 
place,  and  which  I  contemplate  with  an  astonishment  more  nearly 
approaching  to  stupefaction  than  to  admiration.  Czars,  em- 
presses, nobles,  libertines,  and  true  saints,  have  vied  with  one 
another  in  enriching  the  treasury  of  Troitza.  Amid  so  many 
riches,  the  simple  dress  and  the  wooden  cup  of  St.  Sergius  shine 
by  their  very  rusticity. 

The  tomb  of  the  saint  in  the  cathedral  of  the  Trinity,  blazes 
with  magnificence.  The  convent  would  have  furnished  a  rich 
16 


362  INCONVENIENCES    OF    TRAVELLING. 

booty  to  the  French  ;  it  has  not  been  taken  since  the  fourteenth 
century.  It  contains  nine  churches.  The  shrine  is  of  silver, 
gilt ;  it  is  protected  by  silver  pillars  and  canopy,  the  gift  of  the 
Empress  Anne.  The  image  of  Saint  Sergius  is  esteemed  mira- 
culous. Peter  the  Great  carried  it  with  him  in  his  wars  against 
Charles  XII, 

Not  far  from  the  shrine,  under  shelter  of  the  virtues  of  the 
hermit,  lies  the  body  of  the  usurping  assassin,  Boris  Godounoff, 
surrounded  by  many  of  his  family.  The  convent  contains  vari- 
ous other  famous  but  shapeless  tombs  :  they  exhibit  at  once  the 
infancy  and  the  decrepitude  of  art.  The  house  of  the  Archi- 
mandrite and  the  palace  of  the  Czars  present  nothing  of  interest. 
The  number  of  monks  is  now  only  one  hundred  ;  they  were  for- 
merly thrice  as  many.  Notwithstanding  my  persevering  request, 
they  would  not  show  me  the  library.  "  It  is  forbidden  "  was 
always  the  answer.  This  modesty  of  the  monks,  who  conceal  the 
treasures  of  science,  while  they  parade  those  of  vanity,  strikes 
me  as  singular.  I  argue  from  it  that  there  is  more  dust  on  their 
books  than  on  their  jewels. 


I  am  now  at  Dernicki,  a  village  between  the  small  town  of 
Periaslavle  and  Yarowslaf,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  the 
same  name. 

It  must  be  owned  that  it  is  a  strange  notion  of  enjoyment 
which  can  induce  a  man  to  travel  for  his  pleasure  in  a  country 
where  there  are  no  high  roads,*  according  to  the  application  of 
the  word  in  other  parts  of  Europe — no  inns,  no  beds,  no  straw 
even  to  sleep  upon, — for  I  am  obliged  to  fill  my  mattress  and 
that  of  my  servant  with  hay, — no  white  bread,  no  wine,  no  drink- 
able water,  not  a  landscape  to  gaze  upon  in  the  country, — not  a 
work  of  art  to  study  in  the  towns  ;  where,  in  winter,  the  cheeks, 
nose,  ears,  and  feet  are  in  great  danger  of  being  frozen ;  where, 
in  the  dog-days,  you  broil  under  the  sun,  and  shiver  at  night. 
These  are  the  amusements  I  am  come  to  seek  in  the  heart  of 
Kussia  ! 

The  water  is  unwholesome  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  coun- 
try. You  will  injure  your  health  if  you  trust  to  the  protesta- 
tions of  the  inhabitants,  or  do  not  drink  it  without  correcting  it 

*  With  the  exception  of  the  road  between  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  and 
part  of  that  between  Petersburg  and  Riga. 


A    NIGHT    IN    A    RUSSIAN    VILLAGE.  363 

by  effervescent  powders.  To  be  sure,  you  may  obtain  the  luxury 
of  Seltzer-water  in  the  large  towns  ;  but  the  necessity  of  laying 
in  stores  of  this  foreign  beverage,  as  provision  for  the  road,  is 
very  inconvenient.  The  wine  of  the  taverns,  generally  white  arid 
christened  with  the  name  of  Sauterne,  is  scarce,  dear,  and  of  bad 
quality. 

As  for  the  scenery,  there  appears  so  little  variety,  that,  as 
regards  the  habitations  which  alone  enliven  it,  it  may  be  said 
that  there  is  but  one  village  in  all  Russia.  The  distances  are 
incommensurable,  but  the  Russians  diminish  them  by  their  rate 
of  travelling :  scarcely  leaving  their  carriage  until  arrived  at  the 
place  of  their  destination,  they  feel  as  though  they  had  been  in 
bed  at  home  the  whole  length  of  the  journey  ;  and  are  astonished 
to  find  that  we  do  not  share  their  taste  for  this  mode  of  travelling 
while  sleeping,  inherited  by  them  from  their  Scythian  ancestors. 
We  must  not  believe,  however,  that  their  course  is  always  equally 
rapid ;  these  northern  Gascons  do  not  tell  us  of  all  their  delays 
on  the  route.  The  coachmen  drive  fast  when  they  are  able,  but 
they  are  often  stopped  by  insurmountable  difficulties. 

Even  on  the  road  between  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  I  found 
that  we  proceeded  at  very  unequal  rates,  and  that  at  the  end  of 
the  journey  we  had  scarcely  saved  more  time  than  is  done  in 
other  countries.  On  other  routes,  the  inconveniences  are  multi- 
plied a  hundred-fold  :  the  horses  become  scarce,  the  roads  such 
as  would  destroy  any  vehicle ;  and  the  traveller  asks  himself, 
with  a  kind  of  shame,  what  could  have  been  his  motive  for  im- 
posing upon  himself  so  many  discomforts,  by  coming  to  a  country 
that  has  all  the  wildness,  without  any  of  the  poetic  grandeur  of 
the  desert.  Such  was  the  question  I  addressed  to  myself  this 
evening,  when  benighted  on  a  road,  the  difficulty  of  moving  in 
which  was  greatly  enhanced  by  a  new  unfinished  chaussee,  which 
crossed  it  at  every  fifty  yards,  and  by  tottering  bridges,  which 
had  often  lost  the  pieces  of  timber  the  most  essential  to  their 
security. 

My  meditations  at  length  determined  me  to  halt,  and,  to  the 
great  annoyance  of  coachman  and  feldjager,  I  fixed  on  a  lodging 
in  the  little  house  of  some  villagers,  where  I  am  now  writing. 
This  refuge  is  less  disgusting  than  a  real  inn :  no  traveller  stops 
in  such  a  village ;  arid  the  wood  of  the  cabin  serves  as  a  refuge 
only  to  the  insects  brought  from  the  forest.  My  chamber,  a  loft 
reached  by  a  dozen  steps,  is  nine  or  ten  feet  square,  and  six  or 
seven  high.  The  entire  habitation  is  made  of  the  trunks  of  fir- 
trees,  caulked  with  moss  and  pitch  as  carefully  as  if  it  were  a 


364  RUSSIAN    WANT    OF    PKOJJITV. 

boat.  The  same  eternal  smell  of  tar,  cabbage,  and  perfumed 
leather,  which,  combined,  pervades  every  Russian  village,  annoys 
me  ;  but  I  prefer  headache  to  mental  distress,  and  find  this  bed- 
chamber far  more  comfortable  than  the  large  plastered  hall  of 
the  inn  at  Troitza.  I  have  fixed  in  it  my  iron  bedstead :  the 
peasants  sleep,  wrapped  in  their  sheep-skins,  on  the  seats  ranged 
round  the  room  on  the  ground-floor.  Antonio  makes  his  bed  in 
the  coach,  which  is  guarded  by  him  and  the  feldjager.  Men  are 
pretty  safe  on  Russian  highways,  but  equipages  and  all  their 
appurtenances  are  viewed  as  lawful  prizes  by  the  Sclavonian 
serfs ;  and,  without  extreme  vigilance,  I  should  find  my  caleche 
in  the  morning,  stript  of  cover,  braces,  curtains,  and  apron ;  in 
short,  transformed  into  a  primitive  tarandasse,  a  real  telega ; 
and  not  a  soul  in  the  village  would  have  any  idea  what  had  be- 
come of  the  leather  :  or  if,  by  means  of  rigid  searches,  it  should 
be  found  at  the  bottom  of  some  shed,  the  thief,  by  stating  that 
he  had  found  it  and  brought  it  there,  would  be  acquitted.  This 
is  the  standing  defence  in  Russia :  theft  is  rooted  in  the  habits 
of  the  people,  and  consequently,  the  robber  preserves  an  easy 
conscience  and  a  serene  face  that  would  deceive  the  very  angels. 
"  Our  Saviour  would  have  stolen,"  they  say,  "  if  his  hands  had 
not  been  pierced."  This  is  one  of  their  most  common  adages. 

Nor  is  robbery  the  vice  alone  of  the  peasants  :  there  are  as 
many  kinds  of  theft  as  there  are  orders  in  society.  The  governor 
of  a  province  knows  that  he  is  constantly  in  danger  of  something 
occurring  that  may  send  him  to  finish  his  days  in  Siberia.  If, 
during  the  time  that  he  continues  in  office,  he  has  the  cleverness 
to  steal  enough  to  defend  himself  in  the  legal  process  which  would 
precede  his  exile,  he  may  get  out  of  the  difficulty  ;  but  if  he  con- 
tinue poor  and  honest,  he  must  be  ruined.  This  is  not  my  own 
remark,  but  that  of  several  Russians  whom  I  may  not  name,  but 
whom  I  believe  to  be  trust-worthy. 

The  commissaries  of  the  army  rob  the  soldiers,  and  amass 
wealth  by  starving  them  :  in  short,  an  honest  administration 
would  be  here  both  dangerous  and  ridiculous. 

I  hope  to-morrow  to  reach  Yarowslaf:  it  is  a  central  city; 
and  I  shall  stop  there  a  day  or  two,  in  order  to  discover,  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  real  original  Russians.  I  took  care,  with 
this  intention,  to  procure  several  letters  of  introduction  to  that 
capital  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  important  provinces 
of  the  empire. 


ARRIVAL    AT   YAROWSLAtf.  365 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

Commercial  Importance  of  Yarowslaf. — "Description  of  Yarowslaf.— Monotonous  Aspect  of 
the  Country. — The  Boatmen  of  the  Volga.— Coup  d'oeil  on  the  Russian  Character.— 
Primitive  DrosnkK— Antique  Costume.— Russian  Baths.— Difference  between  Russian 
and  German  Children. — Visit  to  the  Governor.— An  agreeable  Surprise.— Souvenirs  of 
Versailles.— Influence  of  French  Literature. — Visit  to  the  Convent  of  the  Transfiguration. 
— Russian  Piety. — Byzamine  style  in  the  Arts.— Great  Points  of  Re!i?ious  Discussion  in 
Russia.— The  Zacuska.— The  Sterled.— Russian  Dinners.— Family  Soiree. — Moral  Supe- 
riority of  the  Female  Sex  in  Russia.— Justification  of  Providence.— A  Lottery. — French 
Ton  changed  by  Politics. — Want  of  a  beneficent  Aristocracy. — The  Real  Governors  of 
Russia. — Bureaucracy. — Children  of  the  Popes. — Propagandism  of  Napoleon  still  operates 
in  Russia. — The  task  of  the  Emperor. 

THE  prediction  made  to  me  at  Moscow  is  already  accomplished, 
although  I  have  yet  scarcely  completed  a  quarter  of  my  journey. 
I  have  reached  Yarowslaf  in  a  carriage,  not  one  part  of  which  is 
undamaged.  It  is  to  be  mended,  but  I  doubt  whether  it  will 
carry  me  through. 

Summer  has  now  vanished*,  not  to  return  until  the  next 
year.  A  cold  rain,  which  they  here  consider  as  proper  to  the 
season,  has  driven  away  the  dog-days  entirely.  I  am  so  accus- 
tomed to  the  inconveniences  of  the  heat,  to  dust,  flies,  and  mos- 
quitoes, that  I  can  scarcely  realize  the  idea  of  my  deliverance 
from  these  scourges. 

The  city  of  Yarowslaf  is  an  important  entrepot  for  the  interior 
commerce  of  Russia.  By  it,  Petersburg  communicates  with 
Persia,  the  Caspian,  and  all  Asia.  The  Volga,  that  great  na- 
tional and  moving  road,  flows  by  the  city,  which  is  the  central 
point  of  the  interior  navigation  of  the  country — a  navigation 
wisely  directed,  much  boasted  of  by  the  subjects  of  the  Czar,  and 
one  of  the  principal  sources  of  their  prosperity.  It  is  with  the 
Volga  that  the  immense  ramifications  of  canals  are  connected, 
that  create  the  wealth  of  Russia. 

The  city,  like  all  the  other  provincial  cities  in  the  empire,  is 
vast  in  extent,  and  appears  empty.  The  streets  are  immensely 
broad,  the  squares  very  spacious,  and  the  houses  in  general  stand 
far  apart.  The  same  style  of  architecture  reigns  from  one  end 
of  the  country  to  the  other. 

The  painted  and  gilded  towers,  almost  as  numerous  as  the 
houses  of  Yarowslaf,  shine  at  a  distance  like  those  of  Moscow,  but 
the  city  is  less  picturesque  than  the  old  capital  of  the  empire.  It 
is  protected  on  the  banks  of  the  Volga  by  a  raised  terrace,  planted 
with  trees ;  under  it,  as  under  a  bridge,  the  road  passes,  by  which 

*  Written  18th  of  August 


366  DESCRIPTION    OF    YAROWSLAF. 

merchandise  is  carried  to  and  from  the  river.  Notwithstanding 
its  commercial  importance,  the  city  is  empty,  dull,  and  silent. 
From  the  height  of  the  terrace  is  to  be  seen  the  yet  more  empty, 
dull,  and  silent  surrounding  country,  with  the  immense  river, 
its  hue  a  sombre  iron-grey,  its  banks  falling  straight  upon  the 
water,  and  forming,  at  their  top,  a  level  with  the  leaden-tinted 
plain,  here  and  there  dotted  with  forests  of  birch  and  pine. 
This  soil  is,  however,  as  well  cultivated  as  it  is  capable  of  becom- 
ing ;  it  is  boasted  of  by  the  Russians  as  being,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Crimea,  the  richest  and  most  smiling  tract  in  their 
empire. 

Byzantine  edifices  ought  to  be  the  models  of  the  national 
architecture  in  Russia.  Cities  full  of  structures  adapted  to  th"ir 
location  should  animate  the  banks  of  the  Volga.  The  interiur 
arrangements  of  the  Russian  habitations  are  rational ;  their  ex- 
terior, and  the  general  plan  of  the  towns,  are  not  so.  Yarowslaf 
has  its  columns  and  its  triumphal  arches  in  imitation  of  Peters- 
burg, all  of  which  are  in  the  worst  taste,  and  contrast,  in  the 
oddest  manner,  with  the  style  of  the  churches  and  steeples.  The 
nearer  I  approached  this  city,  the  more  was  I  struck  with  the 
beauty  of  the  population.  The  villages  are  rich  and  well-built ; 
I  have  seen  a  few  stone  houses,  though  too  limited  in  number  to 
vary  the  monotony  of  the  view. 

The  Volga  is  the  Loire  of  Russia ;  but  instead  of  the  gaily 
smiling  hills  of  Touraine,  crowned  with  the  fairest  castles  of  the 
middle  ages,  we  here  find  only  flat  unvaried  banks,  with  plains, 
where  the  small,  grey,  mean-looking  houses,  ranged  in  lines  like 
tents,  sadden  rather  than  animate  the  landscape  ;  such  is  the  land 
that  the  Russians  commend  to  our  admiration. 

In  walking  along  the  borders  of  the  Volga,  I  had  to  struggle 
against  the  wind  of  the  north,  omnipotent  in  this  country  through- 
out the  year ;  for  three  months  of  which  it  sweeps  the  dust  before 
it,  and  for  the  remaining  nine,  the  snow.  This  evening,  in  the 
intervals  of  the  blast,  the  distant  songs  of  the  boatmen  upon  the 
river  caught  my  ear.  The  nasal  tones,  that  so  much  injure  the 
effect  of  the  national  songs  of  the  Russians,  were  lost  in  the 
distance,  and  I  heard  only  a  vague  plaintive  strain,  of  which  my 
heart  could  guess  the  words.  Upon  a  long  float  of  timber,  which 
they  guided  skilfully,  several  men  were  descending  the  course  of 
their  native  Volga.  On  reaching  Yarowslaf,  they  wished  to 
land ;  and  when  I  saw  them  moor  their  raft,  I  stopped.  They 
passed  close  before  me,  without  taking  any  notice  of  my  foreign 
appearance  ;  without  even  speaking  to  each  other.  The  Russian 
peasants  are  taciturn  and  devoid  of  curiosity ;  I  can  understand 


BOATMEN  ON  THE  VOLGA.  367 

why :  what  they  know,  disgusts  them  with  all  of  which  they  are 
ignorant. 

I  admire  their  noble  features  and  fine  expression.  With  the 
exception  of  the  Calmuc  race,  who  have  broken  noses  and  high 
cheek  bones,  I  again  repeat,  the  Russians  are  perfectly  beautiful. 

Another  charm,  natural  to  them,  is  the  gentleness  of  their 
voice,  which  is  always  bass,  and  which  vibrates  without  effort. 
This  voice  renders  euphonious  a  language,  which,  spoken  by 
others,  would  sound  harsh  and  hissing.  It  is  the  only  one  of  the 
European  languages  which  appears  to  me  to  lose  any  thing  in  the 
mouth  of  refined  and  educated  persons.  My  ear  prefers  the  Rus- 
sian of  the  streets  to  the  Russian  of  the  drawing-rooms :  in  the 
streets,  it  is  a  natural  tongue  ;  in  the  salons,  and  at  court,  it  is  a 
newly  imported  language,  which  the  policy  of  the  master  imposes 
upon  the  courtiers. 

Melancholy,  disguised  by  irony,  is  in  this  land  the  most  or- 
dinary humour  of  mind ;  in  the  salons  especially.  There,  more 
than  elsewhere,  it  is  necessary  to  dissimulate  sadness ;  hence  the 
sneering  sarcastic  tone  of  language,  and  those  efforts  in  conver- 
sation, painful  both  to  the  speaker  and  the  listener.  The  com- 
mon people  drown  their  sadness  in  silent  intoxication  ;  the  lords, 
in  noisy  drunkenness.  The  same  vice  assumes  a  different  form 
in  the  master  and  the  slave.  The  former  has  yet  another  re- 
source against  ennui — ambition,  that  intoxication  of  the  mind. 
Among  all  classes,  there  reigns  an  innate  elegance,  a  natural 
refinement,  which  is  neither  barbarism  nor  civilisation  5  not  even 
their  affectation  can  deprive  them  of  this  primitive  advantage. 

They  are,  however,  deficient  in  a  much  more  essential  quality 
— the  faculty  of  loving.  In  ordinary  affairs,  the  Russians  want 
kind-heartedness  ;  in  great  affairs,  good  faith  :  a  graceful  egotism, 
a  polite  indifference,  are  the  most  conspicuous  traits  in  their  in- 
tercourse with  others.  This  want  of  heart  prevails  among  all 
classes,  and  betrays  itself  under  various  forms,  according  to  the 
rank  of  the  individuals ;  but  the  principle  is  the  same  in  all. 
The  faculty  of  being  easily  affected  and  tenderly  attached,  so 
rare  among  the  Russians,  is  a  ruling  characteristic  of  the  Ger- 
mans, who  call  it  Gemuth.  We  should  call  it  expansive  sen- 
sibility, or  cordiality,  if  we  had  any  need  of  defining  a  feeling 
which  is  scarcely  more  common  among  us  than  among  the  Rus- 
sians. But  the  refined  and  ingenuous  French  plaisanterie  is 
here  replaced  by  a  malignantly  prying,  hostile,  closely  observing, 
caustic,  satirical,  and  envious  spirit,  which  appears  to  me  infinitely 
more  objectionable  than  our  jesting  frivolity.  Here,  the  rigour 
of  the  climate,  the  severity  of  the  government,  and  the  habit  of 


368  COUP  D'GEIL  OF 

espiormage,  render  characters  melancholy,  and  self-love  distrust- 
ful. Somebody,  or  something,  is  always  feared  ;  and,  what  is 
worse,  not  without  cause.  This  is  not  avowed,  yet  it  cannot  be 
concealed  from  a  traveller  accustomed  to  observe  and  compare 
different  nations. 

To  a  certain  point,  the  want  of  a  charitable  disposition  in  the 
Russians  towards  strangers  appears  to  me  excusable.  Before 
knowing  us,  they  lavish  their  attentions  upon  us  with  apparent 
eagerness,  because  they  are  hospitable  like  the  Orientals ;  but 
they  are  also  easily  wearied  like  the  Europeans.  In  welcoming 
us  with  a  forwardness  which  has  more  ostentation  than  cordiality, 
they  scrutinise  our  slightest  words,  they  submit  our  most  insig- 
nificant actions  to  a  critical  examination  ;  and  as  such  work 
necessarily  furnishes  them  with  much  subject  for  blame,  they  tri- 
umph internally,  saying,  "  These,  then,  are  the  people  who  think,, 
themselves  so  superior  to  us  !  " 

This  kind  of  study  suits  their  quickly  discerning,  rather  than 
sensitive  nature.  Such  a  disposition  neither  excludes  a  certain 
politeness,  nor  a  species  of  grace  ;  but  it  is  the  very  opposite  of 
true  amiability.  Perhaps,  with  care  and  time,  one  might  suc- 
ceed in  inspiring  them  with  some  confidence ;  nevertheless,  I 
doubt  whether  all  my  efforts  could  achieve  this ;  for  the  Russians 
are  the  most  unimpressible,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  most  im- 
penetrable people  in  the  world. 

What  have  they  done  to  aid  the  march  of  human  mind  ? 
They  have  not  hitherto  produced  either  philosophers,  moralists, 
legislators,  or  literati  whose  names  belong  to  history  ;  but,  truly, 
they  have  never  wanted,  and  never  will  want,  good  diplomatists, 
clever,  politic  heads ;  and  it  is  the  same  with  their  inferior  classes, 
among  whom  there  are  no  inventive  mechanics,  but  abundance  of 
excellent  workmen.  • 

I  am  leading  the  reader  into  a  labyrinth  of  contradictions,  that 
is,  I  am  showing  the  things  of  this  world  as  they  have  appeared 
to  me  at  the  first  and  at  the  second  view.  I  must  leave  to  him 
the  task  of  reviewing  and  arranging  my  remarks  so  as  to  be  able 
to  draw  from  them  a  general  opinion.  My  ambition  will  be  satis- 
fied, if  a  comparing  of,  and  selecting  from,  this  crowded  collection 
of  precipitate  and  carelessly  hazarded  jugdments,  will  allow  any 
solid,  impartial,  and  ripe  conclusions  to  be  drawn.  I  have  not  at- 
tempted to  draw  them,  because  I  prefer  travelling  to  composing  : 
an  author  is  not  independent,  a  traveller  is.  I  therefore  record 
my  impressions,  and  leave  the  reader  to  complete  the  book. 

The  above  reflections  on  the  Russian  character  have  been  sug- 


THE    RUSSIAN    CHARACTER.  369 

gested  by  several  visits  that  I  have  made  in  Yarowslaf.  I  con- 
sider this  central  point  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  my  jour- 
ney. 

I  will  relate  to-morrow  the  result  of  my  visit  to  the  chief  per- 
sonage of  the  place,  the  governor,  for  I  have  just  sent  him  my 
letter.  I  have  been  told,  or  rather  given  to  infer,  much  to  hfs 
disparagement,  in  the  various  houses  that  I  have  visited  this 
morning. 

The  primitive  droshki  is  to  be  seen  in  this  city.  It  consists 
of  a  little  board  on  four  wheels,  entirely  concealed  under  the  oc- 
cupant, and  looks  as  though  the  horse  were  fastened  to  his  person  ; 
two  of  the  wheels  are  covered  by  his  legs,  and  the  other  two 
are  so  low  that  they  disappear  under  the  rapid  motion  of  the 
machine. 

The  female  peasants  generally  go  barefoot.  The  men  most 
frequently  wear  a  species  of  sandal  made  of  rushes,  rudely  plait- 
ed, which  resembles  those  of  antiquity.  The  leg  is  clothed  in  a 
wide  pantaloon,  the  folds  of  which,  drawn  together  at  the  ankle  by 
a  little  fillet,  are  covered  with  the  shoe.  This  attire  is  precisely 
similar  to  the  Scythian  statues  of  the  Roman  sculptors. 

I  am  writing  in  a  wretched  inn ;  there  are  but  two  good  ones 
in  Russia,  and  they  are  kept  by  foreigners ;  the  English  board- 
ing-house at  Saint  Petersburg,  and  that  of  Madame  Howard  at 
Moscow,  are  those  to  which  I  refer.  In  the  houses  even  of  inde- 
pendent private  people,  I  cannot  seat  myself  without  trembling. 

I  have  seen  several  public  baths,  both  at  Petersburg  and  Mos- 
cow. The  people  bathe  in  different  ways  :  some  enter  chambers 
heated  to  a  temperature  that  appears  to  me  insupportable ;  the 
penetrating  vapour  of  these  stews  is  absolutely  suffocating.  In 
other  chambers,  naked  men,  standing  upon  heated  floors,  are  soap- 
ed and  washed  by  others  also  naked.  The  people  of  taste  have 
their  own  baths,  as  in  other  places  :  but  so  many  individuals  re- 
sort to  the  public  establishments,  the  warm  humidity  there  is  so 
favourable  to  insect  life,  the  clothes  laid  down  in  them  are  nurse- 
ries of  so  many  vermin,  that  the  visitor  rarely  departs  without 
carrying  with  him  some  irrefragable  proof  of  the  sordid  negli- 
gence of  the  lower  orders. 

Before  cleansing  their  own  persons,  those  who  make  use  of  the 
public  baths  ought  to  insist  on  the  cleansing  out  of  these  dens 
where  the  old  Muscovites  revel  in  their  dirtiness,  and  hasten  old 
age  by  the  inordinate  use  of  steam,  and  by  the  perspiration  it  pro- 
vokes. 

It  is  now  ten  in  the  evening.     The  governor  has  sent  to  in- 
16* 


370  VISIT    TO    THE    GOVERNOR. 

form  me  that  his  son  and  his  carriage  will  presently  attend  me. 
I  have  answered,  with  many  thanks,  that  having  retired  for  the 
night,  I  cannot  this  evening  avail  myself  of  his  kindness ;  but 
that  I  shall  pass  the  whole  of  the  morrow  at  Yarowslaf,  and  shall 
then  make  my  acknowledgments  in  person.  I  am  not  sorry  to 
have  this  opportunity  of  observing  Russian  hospitality  in  the 
provinces. 


This  morning,  about  eleven,  the  governer's  son,  who  is  a  mere 
child,  arrived  in  full  uniform,  to  take  me  in  a  carriage-and-four, 
with  coachman,  and  faleiter  mounted  on  the  off-side  horse,  an 
equipage  precisely  similar  to  that  of  the  courtiers  at  Petersburg. 
This  elegant  apparition  at  the  door  of  my  inn  disappointed  me ; 
I  saw  at  once  that  it  was  not  with  old  Muscovites,  but  with  true 
boyars,  that  I  had  to  do.  I  felt  that  I  should  be  again  among 
European  travellers,  courtiers  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  and 
lordly  cosmopolites. 

"  My  father  knows  Paris,"  said  the  young  man  ;  "  he  will  be 
delighted  to  see  a  Frenchman." 

"  At  what  period  was  he  in  France  ?  " 

The  young  Russian  was  silent ;  my  question  appeared  to  dis- 
concert him,  although  I  had  thought  it  a  very  simple  one :  at 
first  I  was  unable  to  account  for  his  embarrassment;  after  dis- 
covering its  cause,  I  gave  him  credit  for  an  exquisite  delicacy, — 
a  rare  sentiment  in  every  country  and  at  every  age. 

M. ,  governor  of  Yarowslaf,  had  visited  France,  in  the 

suite  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  during  the  campaigns  of  1813 
and  1814,  and  this  was  a  reminiscence  of  which  his  son  was  un- 
willing to  remind  me.  His  tact  recalled  to  my  memory  a  very 
different  trait.  One  day,  in  a  small  town  of  Germany,  I  dined 
with  the  envoy  of  a  petty  German  government,  who,  in  presenting 
me  to  his  wife,  said  that  I  was  a  Frenchman. 

"  He's  an  enemy,  then,"  interrupted  their  son,  a  boy  of  appa- 
rently thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old. 

That  young  gentleman  had  not  been  sent  to  school  in  Russia. 

On  entering  the  spacious  and  brilliant  saloon,  where  the  gov- 
ernor, his  lady,  and  their  numerous  family  awaited  me,  I  could 
have  imagined  myself  in  London,  or  rather  in  Petersburg ;  for 
the  lady  of  the  house  was  ensconced,  d  la  russe,  in  the  little 
bower  enclosed  by  gilded  trellis,  and  raised  a  few  steps,  which 


AN    AGREEABLE    SURPRISE.  37 1 

occupied  a  corner  of  the  saloon,  and  which  is  called  the  altane. 
The  governor  received  me  with  politeness,  and  led  me  across  the 
saloon,  past  several  male  and  female  relatives  who  had  met  there, 
into  the  verdant  cabinet,  where  I  found  his  wife. 

Scarcely  had  she  invited  me  to  sit  down  in  this  sanctuary 
when  she  thus  addressed  me  :  "  Monsieur  de  Custine,  does  Elzear 
still  write  fables?" 

My  uncle,  Count  Elzear  de  Sabran,  had  been  from  his  boy- 
hood celebrated  in  the  society  of  Versailles  for  his  poetical  talent, 
and  he  would  have  been  equally  so  in  public  society  if  his  friends 
and  relations  could  have  persuaded  him  to  publish  his  collection 
of  fables — a  species  of  poetical  code,  enlarged  by  time  and  expe- 
rience ;  for  every  circumstance  of  his  life,  every  public  and  pri- 
vate event,  has  inspired  him  with  one  of  these  apologues,  always 
ingenious,  and  often  profound,  and  to  which  an  elegant  and  easy 
versification,  an  original  and  piquant  turn  of  expression,  impart  a 
peculiar  charm.  The  recollection  of  this  was  far  from  my 
thoughts  when  I  entered  the  house  of  the  governor  of  Yarowslaf, 
for  my  mind  was  occupied  with  the  hope,  too  rarely  satisfied,  of 
finding  real  Russians  in  Russia. 

I  replied  to  the  lady  of  the  governor  by  a  smile  of  astonish- 
ment, which  silently  said — explain  to  me  this  mystery  The  ex- 
planation was  soon  given.  "  I  was  brought  up,"  said  the  lady, 
"  by  a  friend  of  your  grandmother,  Madame  de  Sabran ;  that 
friend  has  often  spoken  to  me  of  her  natural  grace  and  charming 
wit,  as  well  as  of  the  mind  and  talents  of  your  uncle  and  your 
mother ;  she  has  often  even  spoken  to  me  of  you,  though  she  had 

left  France  before  your  birth.     It  is  Madame to  whom  I 

allude ;  she  accompanied  into  Russia  the  Polignac  family  when 
they  became  emigres,  and  since  the  death  of  the  Duchess  de  Po- 
lignac she  has  never  left  me." 

In  concluding  these  words  Madame presented  me  to  her 

governess,  an  elderly  person,  who  spoke  French  better  than  I, 
and  whose  countenance  expressed  penetration  and  gentleness. 

I  saw  that  I  must  once  again  renounce  my  dream  of  the 
boyars;  a  dream,  which,  notwithstanding  its  futility,  did  not 
leave  me  without  awakening  some  regret ;  but  I  had  wherewith  to 

indemnify  myself  for  my  mistake.     Madame ,  the  wife  of 

the  governor,  belongs  to  one  of  the  great  original  families  of 

Lithuania ;  she  was  born  Princess .     Over  and  above  the 

politeness  common  to  nearly  all  people  of  her  rank  in  every  land, 
she  has  acquired  the  taste  and  the  tone  of  French  society,  as  it 
existed  in  its  most  nourishing  epoch ;  and,  although  yet  young, 


372  SOUVENIRS    OF    VERSAILLES. 

&he  reminds  me  by  the  noble  simplicity  of  her  manners,  of  the 
elderly  persons  whom  I  knew  in  my  childhood.  Those  manners 
are  the  traditions  of  the  old  court  ;  respect  for  every  kind  of  pro- 
priety, good  taste  in  its  highest  perfection,  for  it  includes  even 
good  and  kindly  dispositions ;  in  short,  every  thing  that  was  at- 
tractive in  the  higher  circles  of  Paris  at  the  time  when  our  social 
superiority  was  denied  by  none ;  at  the  time  when  Madame  de 
Marsan,  limiting  herself  to  an  humble  pension,  retired  voluntarily 
to  a  small  apartment  in  the  Assomption,  and  for  ten  years  de- 
voted her  immense  income  to  paying  the  debts  of  her  brother  the 
Prince  de  G-uemenee,, — by  this  noble  sacrifice  extenuating,  as  far 
as  was  in  her  power,  the  disgrace  and  scandal  of  a  bankrupt  no- 
bleman. 

All  this  will  teach  me  nothing  about  the  country  I  am  in- 
specting, I  thought  to  myself;  nevertheless  it  will  afford  me  a 
pleasure  that  I  should  be  loth  to  deny  myself,  for  it  is  one  that 
has  now  become  more  rare,  perhaps,  than  is  the  satisfaction  of 
the  simple  curiosity  which  brought  me  here. 

I  fancied  myself  in  the  chamber  of  my  grandmother  *,  though, 
indeed,  on  a  day  when  the  Chevalier  de  Boufflers  was  not  there, 
nor  Madame  de  Coaslin,  nor  even  the  lady  of  the  house  :  for  those 
brilliant  models  of  the  character  of  intellect  which  formerly  adorn- 
ed French  conversation  have  gone,  never  to  return,  even  in  Rus- 
sia;  but  I  found  myself  in  the  chosen  circle  of  their  friends  and 
disciples,  assembled,  as  it  were,  in  their  absence ;  and  I  felt  as 
though  we  were  waiting  for  them,  and  that  they  would  soon 
re-appear. 

I  was  not  in  the  least  prepared  for  this  species  of  emotion  : 
of  all  the  surprises  of  my  journey  it  has  been  for  me  the  most 
unexpected. 

The  lady  of  the  house  participated  in  my  astonishment ;  for 
she  told  me  of  the  exclamation  she  had  made  the  previous  even- 
ing, on  perceiving  my  name  at  the  bottom  of  the  note  I  had  sent 
to  the  governor.  The  singularity  of  the  rencontre,  in  a  region 
where  I  supposed  myself  as  little  known  as  a  Chinese,  imme- 
diately gave  a  familiar  and  friendly  tone  to  the  conversation, 
which  became  general,  without  ceasing  to  be  agreeable  and  easy. 
There  was  nothing  concerted  or  affected  in  the  pleasure  they 
seemed  to  take  in  seeing  me.  The  surprise  had  been  reciprocal : 
no  one  had  expected  me  at  Yarowslaf ;  I  had  only  decided  to 
take  that  route  the  day  before  leaving  Moscow. 

*  The  Countess  de  Sabran,  afterwards  Marchioness  de  Boufflers,  who 
died  at  Pans  in  1827,  aged  78  years. 


INFLUENCE    OF    FRENCH    LITERATURE.  3*73 

The  brother  of  the  governor's  wife,  a  Prince ,  writes  our 

language  perfectly  well.  He  has  published  volumes  of  French 
verses,  and  was  kind  enough  to  present  me  with  one  of  his  col- 
lections. On  opening  the  book,  my  eyes  fell  upon  this  line  full 
of  sentiment :  it  occurs  in  a  piece  entitled  Consolations  a  une 
Mere  : 

"Les  pleurs  sont  la  fontaine  ou  notre  a,me   s'epure."* 

Assuredly,  he  is  fortunate  who  expresses  his  idea  so  well  in 
a  foreign  language. 

All  the  members  of  the family  vied  with  one  another  in 

doing  me  the  honours  of  the  house  and  of  the  city. 

My  books  were  loaded  with  indirect  and  ingenious  praises, 
and  were  cited  so  as  to  recall  to  my  mind  a  crowd  of  details  that 
I  had  forgotten.  The  delicate  and  natural  manner  in  which  these 
quotations  were  introduced  would  have  pleased  me  if  they  had 
less  flattered  me.  The  small  number  of  books  which  the  censor- 
ship allows  to  penetrate  so  far,  remain  popular  a  long  time.  I 
may  say,  not  in  my  own  personal  praise,  but  in  that  of  the  times 
in  which  we  live,  that,  in  travelling  over  Europe,  the  only  hospi- 
tality really  worthy  of  gratitude  which  I  have  received  has  been 
that  which  I  owe  to  my  writings.  They  have  created  for  me 
among  strangers  a  small  number  of  friends,  whose  kindness,  ever 
new,  has  in  no  slight  degree  contributed  to  prolong  my  inborn 
taste  for  travelling  and  for  poetry.  If  a  position  of  so  little  im- 
portance as  the  one  which  I  occupy  in  our  literature  has  procured 
me  such  advantages,  it  is  easy  to  conceive  the  influence  which 
the  talents  that  among  us  rule  the  thinking  world,  must  ex- 
ercise. 

This  apostleship  of  our  authors  constitutes  the  real  power  of 
France  :  but  what  responsibility  does  not  such  a  vocation  carry 
with  it !  It  is,  however,  viewed,  as  are  other  offices  ;  the  desire 
of  obtaining  it  causes  a  danger  of  exercising  it  to  be  forgotten. 
As  regards  myself,  if,  during  the  course  of  my  life,  I  have  un- 
derstood and  felt  one  sentiment  of  ambition,  it  has  been  that 
of  sharing,  according  to  my  powers,  in  this  government  of  the 
human  mind,  as  superior  to  political  power  as  electricity  is  to 
gunpowder. 

A  great  deal  was  said  to  me  about  Jean  Sbogar  ;  and  when 
it  was  known  that  I  had  the  happiness  of  being  personally 
acquainted  with  the  author,  a  thousand  questions  were  asked 

*  Tears  are  the  fount  that  purifies  the  soul. 


374  CONVENT    OF    THE    TRANSFIGURATION. 

me  regarding  him.  Would  that  I  had  had,  in  order  to  an- 
swer, the  talent  for  narration  which  he  possesses  in  so  high  a 
degree  ! 

One  of  the  brothers-in-law  of  the  governor  has  taken  me  to 
see  the  Convent  of  the  Transfiguration,  which  serves  as  residence 
for  the  archbishop  of  Yarowslaf.  The  monastery,  like  all  the 
Greek  religious  houses,  is  a  kind  of  low  citadel,  enclosing  several 
churches,  and  numerous  small  edifices  of  every  style  except  the 
good  style. 

The  only  thing  that  appeared  to  me  novel  and  striking  in  the 

visit,  was  the  devotion  of  my  guide,  Prince .  He  bent  his 

forehead,  and  applied  his  lips  with  a  fervour  that  was  surprising, 
to  all  the  objects  presented  for  the  veneration  of  the  faithful;  and 
in  this  convent,  which  encloses  several  sanctuaries,  he  performed 
the  same  ceremonies  in  twenty  different  places.  Meanwhile  his 
drawing-room  conversation  announced  nothing  of  this  devotion  of 
the  cloister.  He  concluded  by  inviting  me  also  to  kiss  the  relics 
of  a  saint  whose  tomb  a  monk  had  opened  for  us.  I  saw  him 
make  at  least  fifty  signs  of  the  cross ;  he  kissed  twenty  images 
and  relics  :  in  short,  not  any  one  of  our  nuns  in  the  seclusion  of 
her  convent  would  repeat  so  many  genuflexions,  salutations,  and 
inclinations  of  the  head  in  passing  and  repassing  the  high  altar 
of  her  church,  as  did  this  Russian  Prince,  an  old  officer  and  aide- 
de-camp  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  in  presence  of  a  stranger,  in 
the  monastery  of  the  Transfiguration. 

The  Greeks  cover  the  walls  of  their  churches  with  fresco  paint- 
ings in  the  Byzantine  style.  A  foreigner  feels  at  first  some  respect 
for  these  representations,  because  he  believes  them  ancient ;  but 
when  he  finds  that  the  churches  which  appear  the  most  ancient 
have  been  recoloured,  and  often  rebuilt  but  yesterday,  his  venera- 
tion soon  changes  into  profound  ennui.  The  Madonnas,  even  the 
ones  most  newly  painted,  resemble  those  that  were  brought  into 
Italy  towards  the  end  of  the  middle  ages,  to  revive  there  the  taste 
for  art.  But  since  then  the  Italians — their  genius  electrized  by 
the  conquering  spirit  of  the  Roman  church — have  perceived  and 
pursued  the  grand  and  the  beautiful,  and  have  produced  all  that 
the  world  has  seen  of  most  sublime  in  every  branch  of  art ;  during 
which  time  the  Greeks  of  the  Lower  Empire,  and  the  Russians 
after  them,  have  continued  faithfully  to  chalk  their  Virgins  of  the 
eighth  century. 

The  Eastern  church  has  never  been  favourable  to  the  arts. 
Since  schism  was  declared,  she  has  done  nothing  but  benumb  all 
minds  with  the  subtleties  of  theology.  In  the  present  day,  the 


RUSSIAN    DINNERS.  375 

true  believers  in  Russia  dispute  seriously  among  themselves  as  to 
whether  it  is  permitted  to  give  the  natural  flesh  colour  to  the  heads 
of  the  Virgin,  or  if  it  is  necessary  to  continue  to  colour  them,  like 
the  pretended  Madonnas  of  St.  Luke,  with  that  tint  of  bistre  which 
is  so  unnatural.  There  is  also  much  dispute  among  them  as  to  the 
manner  of  representing  the  rest  of  the  person :  it  is  uncertain 
whether  the  body  ought  to  be  painted  or  imitated  in  metal  and 
enclosed  in  a  kind  of  cuirass,  which  leaves  the  face  alone  visible, 
or  sometimes  the  eyes  only.  The  reader  must  explain  to  himself, 
as  he  best  can,  why  a  metallic  body  appears  more  decent  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Greek  priests  than  canvas  painted  as  a  woman's  robe. 

We  are  not  yet  at  the  end  of  the  great  points  of  dispute  in  the 
Greek  church.  Certain  doctors,  whose  number  is  large  enough  to 
form  a  sect,  have  conscientiously  separated  themselves  from  the 
mother-church  because  she  now  shields  within  her  bosom  impious 
innovators,  who  permit  the  priests  to  give  the  sacerdotal  benedic- 
tion with  three  fingers  of  the  hand,  whereas  the  true  tradition 
wills  that  the  fore  and  middle  fingers  only  shall  be  charged  with 
the  task  of  dispensing  blessings  upon  the  faithful. 

Such  are  the  questions  now  agitated  in  the  Greco-Russian 
church ;  and  let  it  not  be  supposed  that  they  are  considered  puerile  : 
they  inflame  passions,  provoke  heresy,  and  decide  the  fate  of  men 
in  this  world  and  in  the  next.  To  return  to  my  entertainers  : 

The  great  Russian  nobles  appear  to  me  more  amiable  in  the 
provinces  than  at  court. 

The  wife  of  the  governor  of  Yarowslaf  has,  at  this  moment,  all 
her  family  united  around  her;  several  of  her  sisters,  with  their 
husbands  and  children,  are  lodged  in  her  house ;  she  admits  like- 
wise to  her  table  the  principal  employes  of  her  husband,  who  are 
inhabitants  of  the  city ;  her  son  also  is  still  attended  by  a  tutor ; 
so  that  at  dinner  there  were  twenty  persons  to  sit  down  to  table. 

It  is  the  custom  of  the  North  to  precede  the  principal  repast 
by  a  smaller  refection,  which  is  served  in  the  saloon  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  before  entering  the  dining-room.  This  preliminary,  which 
is  destined  to  sharpen  the  appetite,  is  called  in  Russian,  if  my  ear 
has  not  deceived  me,  zacuska.  The  servants  bring  upon  trays, 
small  plates  filled  with  fresh  caviare,  such  as  is  only  eaten  in  this 
country,  dried  fish,  cheese,  salt  meats,  sea  biscuits,  and  pastry; 
with  these,  bitter  liqueurs,  French  brandy,  London  porter,  Hun- 
garian wine,  &c.,  are  also  brought  in;  to  which  the  company 
help  themselves  standing.  A  stranger,  ignorant  of  the  usages 
of  the  country,  or  an  appetite  easily  satisfied,  might  very  soon 
here  make  a  meal,  and  remain  afterwards  a  spectator  only  of  the 


376  RUSSIAN    DINNERS. 

real  dinner.  The  Russians  eat  plentifully,  and  keep  a  liberal  table ; 
but  they  are  too  fond  of  hashes,  stuffing,  little  balls  of  mince-meat, 
and  fish  pates. 

One  of  the  most  delicate  fishes  in  the  world  is  caught  in  the 
Volga,  where  it  abounds.  It  is  called  the  sterlet,  and  unites  the 
flavour  of  the  sea  and  fresh-water  fishes,  without,  however,  resem- 
bling any  that  I  have  eaten  elsewhere.  This  fish  is  large,  its  flesh 
light  and  fine ;  its  head,  pointed  and  full  of  cartilages,  is  consider- 
ed delicate ;  the  monster  is  seasoned  very  skilfully,  but  without 
many  spices  :  the  sauce  that  is  served  with  it  unites  the  flavour  of 
wine,  strong  meat  broth,  and  lemon-juice.  I  prefer  this  national 
dish  to  all  the  other  ragouts  of  the  land,  and  especially  to  the  cold 
and  sour  soup,  that  species  of  fish-broth,  iced,  that  forms  the  de- 
testable treat  of  the  Russians.  They  also  make  soups  of  sugared 
vinegar,  of  which  I  have  tasted  enough  to  prevent  my  ever  asking 
for  any  more. 

The  governor's  dinner  was  good  and  well  served,  without 
superfluity,  and  without  useless  recherche.  The  abundance  and 
excellent  quality  of  the  water-melons  astonish  me  :  it  is  said 
that  they  come  from  the  environs  of  Moscow,  but  I  should  rather 
imagine  they  send  to  the  Crimea  for  them.  It  is  the  custom  in 
this  country  to  place  the  dessert  upon  the  table  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  dinner,  and  to  serve  it  plate  by  plate.  This  method 
has  its  advantages,  and  its  inconveniences :  it  seems  to  me  only 
perfectly  proper  at  great  dinners. 

The  Russian  dinners  are  of  a  reasonable  length ;  and  nearly 
all  the  guests  disperse  upon  rising  from  table.  Some  practise  the 
Oriental  habit  of  the  siesta ;  others  take  a  promenade  or  return 
to  their  business  after  drinking  coffee.  Dinner  is  not  here  the 
repast  which  finishes  the  labours  of  the  day ;  and  when  I  took 
leave  of  the  lady  of  the  house,  she  had  the  kindness  to  engage 
me  to  return  and  pass  the  evening  with  her.  I  accepted  the  in- 
vitation, for  I  felt  it  would  be  unpolite  to  refuse  it :  all  that  is 
offered  to  me  here  is  done  with  so  much  good  taste,  that  neither 
my  fatigue  nor  my  wish  to  retire  and  write  to  my  friends,  is  suf- 
ficient to  preserve  my  liberty:  such  hospitality  is  a  pleasant 
tyranny ;  it  would  be  indelicate  not  to  accept  it ;  a  carriage-and- 
four  and  a  house  are  placed  at  my  disposal,  a  whole  family  are 
troubling  themselves  to  amuse  me  and  to  show  me  the  country ; 
and  this  is  done  without  any  affected  compliments,  superfluous 
protestations,  or  importunate  empressernent ;  I  do  not  know  how 
to  resist  so  much  rare  simplicity,  grace,  and  elegance  ;  I  should 
yield  were  it  only  from  a  patriotic  instinct,  for  there  is  in  these 


SUPERIORITY    OF    THE    FEMALE    SEX.  377 

agreeable  manners  a  souvenir  of  ancient  France  which  affects  and 
attracts  me  :  it  seems  as  though  I  had  come  to  the  frontiers  of 
the  civilised  world  to  reap  a  part  of  the  heritage  of  the  French 
spirit  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  spirit  that  has  been  long  lost 
among  ourselves.  The  inexpressible  charm  of  good  manners, 
and  of  simple  language,  reminds  me  of  a  paradox  of  one  of  the 
most  intellectual  men  I  have  ever  known  :  "  There  is  not,"  he 
says,  "  a  bad  action  nor  a  bad  sentiment  that  has  not  its  source 
in  a  fault  of  manners  ;  consequently,  true  politeness  is  virtue  :  it 
is  all  the  virtues  united."  He  goes  yet  further;  he  pretends 
there  is  no  other  vice  but  that  of  coarseness. 

At  nine  o'clock  this  evening,  I  returned  to  the  house  of  the 
governor.  We  had  first  music,  and  afterwards  a  lottery. 

One  of  the  brothers  of  the  lady  of  the  house  plays  the  violon- 
cello in  a  charming  manner ;  he  was  accompanied  on  the  piano 
by  his  wife,  a  very  agreeable  woman.  This  duett,  as  well  as 
many  national  airs,  sung  with  taste,  made  the  evening  pass 
rapidly. 

The  conversation  of  Madame  de ,  the  old  friend  of  my 

grandmother  and  of  Madame  de  Polignac,  contributed  in  no 
slight  degree  to  shorten  it.  The  lady  has  lived  in  Russia  for 
forty-seven  years ;  she  has  viewed  and  judged  the  country  with 
discernment  and  justice,  and  she  states  the  truth  without  hos- 
tility, and  yet  without  rhetorical  precautions  :  this  is  new  to  me; 
her  frankness  strangely  contrasts  with  the  universal  dissimula- 
tion practised  by  the  Russians.  An  intelligent  Frenchwoman, 
who  has  passed  her  life  among  them,  ought,  I  think,  to  know 
them  better  than  they  know  themselves ;  for  they  blind  them- 
selves in  order  the  better  to  impose  falsehood  upon  others. 

Madame  de said  and  repeated  to  me,  that  in  this  country 

the  sentiment  of  honour  is  without  power,  except  in  the  heart  of 
the  women  :  they  have  made  it  a  matter  of  religion  to  be  faithful 
to  their  word,  to  despise  falsehood,  to  observe  delicacy  in  money 
affairs,  and  independence  in  politics ;  in  short,  according  to 

Madame  de ,  the  greater  number  of  them  possess  what  is 

wanted  in  the  great  majority  of  the  men — probity  in  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  life,  whether  of  greater  or  less  importance  In 
general,  the  Russian  women  think  more  than  the  men,  because 
they  act  less.  Leisure,  that  advantage  inherent  in  a  woman's 
mode  of  life,  is  as  advantageous  to  their  character  as  to  their  un- 
derstanding :  they  are  better  informed,  less  servile,  and  possess 
more  energy  of  sentiment  than  the  other  sex.  Heroism  itself 
appears  to  them  natural,  and  becomes  easy.  The  Princess  Trou- 


378  A    LOTTERY. 

betzkoi  is  not  the  only  woman  who  has  followed  her  husband  to 
Siberia :  many  exiled  men  have  received  from  their  wives  this 
sublime  proof  of  devotion,  which  loses  none  of  its  value  for  being 
less  rare  than  I  imagined  it :  unfortunately,  I  do  not  know  their 
names.  Where  will  they  find  a  historian  and  a  poet?  Were  it 
only  on  account  of  unknown  virtues,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
believe  in  a  last  judgment.  The  glory  of  the  good  is  a  part 
which  would  be  wanting  to  the  justice  of  God :  we  can  imagine 
the  pardon  of  the  Omnipotent ;  we  cannot  imagine  his  indiffer- 
ence. Virtue  is  only  so  called,  because  it  cannot  be  recompensed 
by  men.  It  would  lose  its  perfection  and  become  a  matter  of 
mercenary  calculation  if  it  were  sure  of  always  being  appreciated 
and  remunerated  upon  earth :  virtue  which  did  not  reach  to  the 
supernatural  and  the  sublime  would  be  incomplete.  If  evil  did 
not  exist,  where  would  there  be  saints  ?  The  combat  is  neces- 
sary to  the  victory,  and  the  victor  may  even  ask  from  God  the 
conqueror's  crown.  This  beautiful  spectacle  justifies  Providence, 
which,  in  order  to  present  it  to  the  attentive  Heaven,  tolerates 
the  errors  of  the  world. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  evening,  before  permitting  me  to 
leave,  my  entertainers,  with  the  view  of  paying  me  a  compliment, 
expedited,  by  several  days,  a  ceremony  which  had  been  looked 
forward  to  for  six  months  in  the  family :  it  was  the  drawing  of  a 
lottery,  the  object  of  which  was  charity.  All  the  prizes,  consist- 
ing of  articles  made  by  the  lady  of  the  house,  her  friends  and 
relatives,  were  tastefully  spread  upon  the  tables  :  the  one  which 
fell  to  me,  I  cannot  say  by  chance  (for  my  tickets  had  been  care- 
fully selected),  was  a  pretty  note-book  with  a  varnished  cover. 
I  wrote  in  it  the  date,  and  added  a  few  words  by  way  of  remem- 
brance. In  the  times  of  our  fathers,  an  impromptu  in  verse  would 
have  been  suggested ;  but,  in  these  days,  when  public  impromptus 
abound  ad  nauseam,  those  of  the  salon  are  out  of  date.  Ephe- 
meral literature,  politics,  and  philosophy,  have  dethroned  the 
quatrain  and  the  sonnet.  I  had  not  the  ready  wit  to  write  a  sin- 
gle couplet ;  but  I  should,  in  justice,  add,  that  neither  did  I  feel 
the  ambition. 

After  bidding  farewell  to  my  amiable  entertainers,  whom  I 
am  to  meet  again  at  the  fair  of  Nijni,  I  returned  to  my  inn,  very 
well  satisfied  with  the  day.  The  house  of  the  peasant  in  which  I 
lodged  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  the  saloon  of  to-day,  in 
other  words,  Kamtschatka  and  Versailles  within  a  distance"  tra- 
versed in  a  few  hours,  present  a  contrast  which  describes  Russia. 

I  sacrifice  my  nights  to  relate  to  my  friends  the  objects  that 


WANT    OF    A    BENEFICENT    ARISTOCRACY.  379 

strike  me  during  the  day.     My  chapter  is  not  finished,  and  dawn 
already  appears. 

The  contrasts  in  this  empire  are  abrupt ;  so  much  so,  that  the 
peasant  and  the  lord  do  not  seem  to  belong  to  the  same  land :  the 
grandees  are  as  cultivated  as  if  they  lived  in  another  country ; 
the  serfs  are  as  ignorant  and  savage  as  though  they  served  under 
lords  like  themselves. 

It  is  much  less  with  the  abuses  of  aristocracy  that  I  reproach 
the  Russian  government,  than  with  the  absence  of  an  authorised 
aristocratic  power  whose  attributes  might  be  clearly  and  consti- 
tutionally defined.  Recognised  political  aristocracies  have  always 
struck  me  as  being  beneficent  in  their  influence  ;  whilst  the  aris- 
tocracies that  have  no  other  foundation  than  the  chimeras,  or  the 
injustices  of  privileges,  are  pernicious,  because  their  attributes 
remain  undefined  and  ill-regulated.  It  is  true  the  Russian  lords 
are  masters,  and  too  absolute  masters,  in  their  territories ;  whence 
arise  those  excesses  that  fear  and  hypocrisy  conceal  by  humane 
phrases,  softly  pronounced,  which  deceive  travellers,  and,  too  often, 
the  government  also.  But  these  men,  though  monarchs  in  their 
far  distant  domains,  have  no  power  in  the  state ;  they  do  what 
they  please  on  their  own  lands,  defying  the  power  of  the  Em- 
peror,  by  corrupting  or  intimidating  his  secondary  agents ;  but 
the  country  is  not  governed  by  them  ;  they  enjoy  no  consideration 
in  the  general  direction  of  affairs.  It  is  only  by  becoming  cour- 
tiers, by  labouring  for  promotion  in  the  tchinnt  that  they  can  ob- 
tain any  public  credit  or  standing.  This  life  of  the  courtier  ex- 
cludes all  elevation  of  sentiment,  independence  of  spirit,  and 
humane,  patriotic  views,  which  are  essential  elements  of  aristo- 
cratic bodies  legally  constituted  in  states  organised  to  extend 
their  power  and  to  flourish  long. 

The  government,  on  the  other  hand,  equally  excludes  the  just 
pride  of  the  man  who  has  made  his  fortune  by  his  labour.  It 
unites  all  the  disadvantages  of  democracy  with  those  of  despot- 
ism, and  rejects  every  thing  that  is  good  in  both  systems. 

Russia  is  governed  by  a  class  of  subaltern  employes,  trans- 
ferred direct  from  the  public  schools  to  the  public  administration. 
These  individuals,  who  are  very  frequently  the  sons  of  men  born 
in  foreign  lands,  are  noble  so  soon  as  they  wear  a  cross  at  their 
button-hole ;  and  it  is  only  the  Emperor  who  gives  this  decora- 
tion. Invested  with  the  magical  sign,  they  become  proprietors 
of  estates  and  of  men ;  and  thus,  obtaining  power  without  ob- 
taining also  that  heritage  of  magnanimity  natural  in  a  chieftain 
born  and  habituated  to  command,  the  new  lords  use  their  author- 


380  CHILDREN    OP   THE    POPES. 

ity  like  upstarts  as  they  are.  and  render  odious  to  the  nation,  and 
the  world,  the  system  of  servitude  established  in  Kussia,  at  the 
period  when  ancient  Europe  began  to  destroy  her  feudal  institu- 
tions. By  virtue  of  their  offices,  these  despots  oppress  the  coun- 
try with  impunity,  and  incommode  even  the  Emperor ;  who  per- 
ceives, with  astonishment,  that  he  is  not  so  powerful  as  he 
imagined,  though  he  dares  not  complain,  or  even  confess  it  to 
himself.  This  is  the  bureaucracy,  a  power,  terrible  every  where, 
because  its  abuses  are  always  made  in  the  name  of  order,  but  more 
terrible  in  Russia  than  any  where  else.  When  we  see  adminis- 
trative tyranny  acting  under  Imperial  despotism,  we  may  tremble 
for  a  land  where  is  established,  without  counterbalance,  the  sys- 
tem of  government  propagated  in  Europe  at  the  time  of  the 
French  Empire. 

The  Emperors  of  Russia,  equally  mistaken  in  their  confidence 
and  their  suspicion,  viewed  the  nobles  as  rivals,  and  sought  only 
to  find  slaves  in  the  men  they  needed  for  ministers.  Hence  has 
sprung  up  the  swarm  of  obscure  agents  who  labour  to  govern  the 
land  in  obedience  to  ideas  not  their  own ;  from  which  it  follows 
that  they  can  never  satisfy  real  wants.  This  class  of  employes, 
hostile  in  their  hearts  to  the  order  of  things  which  they  direct, 
are  recruited  in  a  great  measure  from  among  the  sons  of  the 
popes,* — a  body  of  vulgar  aspirants,  of  upstarts  without  talent, 
for  they  need  no  merit  to  oblige  the  state  to  disembarrass  itself  of 
the  burden  which  they  are  upon  it ;  people  who  approach  to  all 
the  ranks  without  possessing  any ;  minds  which  participate  alike 
in  the  popular  prejudices  and  the  aristocratic  pretensions,  without 
having  the  energy  of  the  one  or  the  wisdom  of  the  other :  to  in- 
clude all  in  one  clause,  the  sons  of  the  priests  are  revolutionists 
charged  with  maintaining  the  established  order. 

Half  enlightened,  liberal  as  the  ambitious,  as  fond  of  oppress- 
ing as  the  slave,  imbued  with  crude  philosophical  notions  utterly 
inapplicable  to  the  country  which  they  call  their  own,  though  all 
their  sentiments  and  semi-enlightened  ideas  come  from  abroad, 
these  men  are  urging  the  nation  towards  a  goal  of  which  they  are 
perhaps  ignorant  themselves,  which  the  Emperor  has  never  ima- 
gined, and  which  is  not  one  that,  true  Russians  or  true  friends 
of  humanity  will  desire. 

Their  permanent  conspiracy  dates  as  far  back  as  the  time  of  ( 
Napoleon.     The  political  Italian  had  foreseen  the  danger  of  the 
Russian  power ;  and,  wishing  to  weaken  the  enemy  of  revolution- 

*  Greek  priests. 


PROPAGANDISM  OF  NAPOLEON.  381 

ised  Europe,  he  had  recourse,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  influence 
ideas.  He  profited  by  his  friendly  relations  with  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  and  by  the  innate  tendency  of  that  prince  towards 
liberal  institutions,  to  send  to  Petersburg,  under  pretext  of  aid- 
ing in  the  accomplishment  of  the  Emperor's  designs,  a  great 
number  of  political  workmen, — a  kind  of  masked  army,  charged 
with  secretly  preparing  the  way  for  our  soldiers.  These  skilful 
intriguers  were  instructed  to  mix  themselves  up  with  the  gov- 
ernment, and  especially  with  the  system  of  public  education,  and 
to  instil  into  the  minds  of  the  rising  generation  doctrines  opposed 
to  the  political  religion  of  the  land.  Thus  did  the  great  warrior 
— heir  to  the  French  revolution  and  foe  to  the  liberties  of  the 
world  —  throw  from  afar  the  seeds  of  trouble  and  of  discord, 
because  the  unity  of  despotism  appeared  to  him  a  dangerous 
weapon  in  the  military  government  which  constitutes  the  immense 
power  of  Russia. 

That  empire  is  now  reaping  the  fruit  of  the  slow  and  pro- 
found policy  of  the  adversary  it  flattered  itself  that  it  had  con- 
quered,— an  adversary  whose  posthumous  machiavelism  survives 
reverses  unheard  of  in  the  history  of  human  wars.  To  the  se- 
cretly-working influence  of  these  pioneers  of  our  armies,  and  to 
that  of  their  children  and  their  disciples,  I  attribute  in  a  great 
measure  the  revolutionary  ideas  which  have  taken  root  in  many 
families,  and  even  in  the  army ;  and  the  explosion  of  which  has 
produced  the  conspiracies  that  we  have  seen  hitherto  breaking 
themselves  against  the  strength  of  the  established  government. 
Perhaps  I  deceive  myself,  but  I  feel  persuaded  that  the  present 
Emperor  will  triumph  over  these  ideas,  by  crushing,  even  to  the 
last  man,  those  who  defend  them. 

I  was  far  from  expecting  to  find  in  Russia  such  vestiges  of 
our  policy,  and  to  hear  from  the  mouths  of  Russians  reproaches 
similar  to  those  that  the  Spaniards  have  adressed  to  us  for  thirty- 
five  years  past.  If  the  mischievous  intentions  which  the  Rus- 
sians attribute  to  Napoleon  were  real,  no  interest,  no  patriotism 
could  justify  them.  We  cannot  save  one  part  of  the  world  by 
deceiving  the  other.  Our  religious  propagandism  appears  to  me 
sublime,  because  the  Catholic  church  accords  with  every  form  of 
government  and  every  degree  of  civilisation,  over  which  it  reigus 
with  all  the  superiority  of  mind  over  body :  but  political  prose- 
lytism,  that  is  to  say,  the  narrow  spirit  of  conquest,  or  to  speak 
yet  more  justly,  the  spirit  of  rapine  justified  by  that  skilful  so- 
phistry called  glory,  is  odious;  for,  far  from  drawing  together  the 
human  race,  this  contracted  ambition  divides  >'•«  n  :  unity  can 


382  THE    TASK    OF    THE    EMPEROR. 

only  give  birth  to  elevated  and  extended  ideas ;  but  the  politics 
of  national  interference  are  always  little ;  its  liberality  is  hypo- 
critical or  tyrannical ;  its  benefits  are  ever  deceptive:  every  na- 
tion should  derive  from  within  itself  the  means  for  the  improve- 
ments it  requires. 

To  resume  :  the  problem  proposed,  not  by  men,  but  by  events, 
by  the  concatenation  of  circumstances,  to  an  Emperor  of  Russia, 
is  to  favour  among  the  nation  the  progress  of  knowledge,  in  order 
to  hasten  the  emancipation  of  the  serfs ;  and  further,  to  aim  at 
this  object  by  the  improving  of  manners,  by  the  encouraging  of 
humanity  and  of  legal  liberty ;  in  short,  by  ameliorating  hearts 
with  the  view  of  alleviating  destinies.  Such  is  the  condition 
imposed  upon  any  man  who  would  now  reign,  even  at  Moscow : 
but  the  peculiarity  of  the  Emperor's  position  is,  that  he  has  to 
shape  his  course  towards  this  object,  keeping  clear,  on  the  one 
side,  of  the  mute  though  well-organised  tyranny  of  a  revolutionary 
administration,  and  on  the  other,  of  the  arrogance  and  the  con- 
spiracies of  an  aristocracy  so  much  the  more  unquiet  and  formi- 
dable as  its  power  is  vague  and  undefined. 

It  must  be  owned  that  no  sovereign  has  yet  acquitted  himself 
in  this  terrible  task  with  so  much  firmness,  talent,  and  good  fortune 
as  have  been  displayed  by  the  Emperor  Nicholas.  He  is  the  first 
of  the  modern  Russian  princes  who  has  perceived  the  necessity 
of  being  a  Russian  in  order  to  confer  good  upon  the  Russians. 
Undoubtedly  history  will  say :  This  man  was  a  great  sovereign. 

I  have  no  time  left  for  sleeping :  the  horses  are  already  in 
my  carriage,  and  I  shall  soon  be  on  the  road  to  Nijni. 


CHAPTER  XXVIIL* 

The  Banks  of  the  Volga. — Russian  Coachmen  in  Mountain  Roads. — Kostroma. — Ferry  on  the 
Volga. — Accident  in  a  Forest. — Beauty  of  the  Women. — Civilisation  injurious. — Rousseau 
justified.— Etymology  of  the  word  Sarmatian.— Elegance,  Industry,  and  Humility  of  the 
Peasants. — Their  Music. — National  Music  dangerous  to  Despotism. — The  Road  to  Siberia. 
— A  Picture  of  Russia. — Exiles  on  the  Road. 

OUR  road  follows  the  course  of  the  Volga.  Yesterday,  I  crossed 
that  river  at  Yarowslaf,  and  I  have  re-crossed  it  to-day  at  Kunitcha. 
In  many  places  its  two  banks  differ  in  physical  aspect.  On  one 

*  Written  at  Yourewetch  Powolskoi,  a  small  town  between  Yarowslaf 
and  Nijni  Novgorod. 


RUSSIAN    COACHMEN    IN    MOUNTAIN    ROADS.  383 

side,  stretches  and  immense  plain  level  with  the  water,  on  tho 
other,  the  bank  forms  an  almost  perpendicular  wall,  sometimes  a 
hundred  or  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  This  rampart  or  na- 
tural embankment,  which  extends  a  considerable  way  backwards 
from  the  river  before  it  again  loses  itself  in  gradual  slopes  upon 
the  plain,  is  clothed  with  osiers  and  birch,  and  is  broken,  from 
distance  to  distance,  by  the  river's  tributaries.  These  water- 
courses form  deep  furrows  in  the  bank,  which  they  have  to  pierce 
in  order  to  reach  the  mighty  stream.  The  bank,  thus  broken, 
resembles  a  mountain  chain,  and  the  furrows  are  real  valleys, 
across  which  the  road  parallel  to  the  Volga  is  carried. 

The  Russian  coachmen,  although  so  skilful  on  level  ground,  are, 
on  mountainous  roads,  the  most  dangerous  drivers  in  the  world. 
That  on  which  we  are  now  travelling  puts  their  prudence  and  my 
sang-froid  to  the  full  proof.  The  continual  ascending  and  descend- 
ing would,  if  the  declivities  were  longer,  be,  under  their  mode  of 
driving,  extremely  perilous.  The  coachman  commences  the 
descent  at  a  foot's  pace ;  when  about  a  third  of  it  is  got  over, 
which  generally  brings  you  to  the  steepest  part,  man  and  horses 
begin  mutually  to  weary  of  their  unaccustomed  prudence ;  the 
latter  get  into  a  gallop,  the  carriage  rolls  after  with  constantly 
increasing  velocity  until  it  reaches  the  middle  of  a  bridge  of 
planks,  frail,  disjointed,  uneven,  and  moveable :  for  they  are 
placed,  but  not  fixed,  upon  their  supporting  beams,  and  under  the 
poles  which  serve  as  rails  to  the  trembling  structure.  A  bridge 
of  this  kind  is  found  at  the  bottom  of  each  ravine.  If  the  horses, 
in  their  wild  gallop,  do  not  bring  the  carriage  straight  on  the 
planks,  it  will  be  overturned.  The  life  of  the  traveller  depends 
entirely  upon  the  address  of  the  driver,  and  upon  the  legs  of  four 
spirited,  but  weak  and  tired  animals.  If  a  horse  stumbles,  or  a 
strap  breaks,  all  is  lost. 

At  the  third  repetition  of  this  hazardous  game,  I  desired  that 
the  wheel  should  be  locked,  but  there  was  no  drag  on  my  Moscow 
carriage ;  I  had  been  told  that  it  was  never  necessary  to  lock  the 
wheel  in  Russia.  To  supply  the  want,  it  was  necessary  to  detach 
one  of  the  horses,  and  to  use  its  traces.  I  have  ordered  the  same 
operation  to  be  repeated,  to  the  great  astonishment  of  the  drivers, 
each  time  that  the  length  and  steepness  of  the  declivity  have 
seemed  to  threaten  the  safety  of  the  carriage,  the  frailness  of 
which  I  have  already  only  too  often  experienced.  The  coachmen, 
astonished  as  they  appear,  do  not  make  the  least  objection  to  my 
strange  fancies,  nor  in  any  way  oppose  the  orders  that  I  give 
them  through  the  feldjager ;  but  I  can  read  their  thoughts  in  their 


384  KUSSIAN    COACHMEN    IN    MOUNTAIN    ROADS. 

faces.  The  presence  of  a  government-servant  procures  me  every 
where  marks  of  deference  :  such  a  proof  of  favour  on  the  part  of 
the  authorities  renders  me  an  object  of  respect  among  the  people. 
I  would  not  advise  any  stranger,  so  little  experienced  as  I  am,  to 
risk  himself  without  such  a^guide  on  Russian  roads,  especially 
those  of  the  interior. 

When  the  traveller  has  been  so  fortunate  as  to  cross  in  safety 
the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  the  next  difficulty  is  to  climb  the  oppo- 
site bank.  The  Russian  horses  know  no  other  pace  than  the  gal- 
lop :  if  the  road  is  not  heavy,  the  hill  short,  and  the  carriage 
light,  they  bring  you  to  the  summit  in  a  moment ;  but  if  the  as- 
cent is  long,  or  the  road,  as  is  frquently  the  case,  sandy,  they 
soon  come  to  a  step,  panting  and  exhausted,  in  the  middle  of  their 
task ;  turn  stupid  under  the  application  of  the  whip,  kick,  and 
run  back,  to  the  imminent  danger  of  throwing  the  carriage  into 
the  ditches ;  while  at  each  dilemma  of  the  kind  I  say  to  myself, 
in  derision  of  the  pretensions  of  the  Russians,  There  are  no  dis- 
tances in  Russia  ! 

The  coachmen,  however  adroit  they  may  be,  want  experience 
when  they  leave  their  native  plains ;  they  do  not  understand  the 
proper  manner  of  getting  horse's  over  mountains.  At  the  first 
signs  of  hesitation  everybody  alights ;  the  servants  push  at  the 
wheels ;  at  every  few  steps  the  horses  stop  to  breathe,  when  the 
men  rub  their  nostrils  with  vinegar  and  encourage  them  with 
voice  and  hand.  In  this  manner,  aided  by  stokes  of  the  whip, 
generally  applied  with  admirable  judgment,  we  gain  the  summit  of 
these  formidable  ridges,  which  in  other  countries  would  be 
climbed  without  difficulty.  The  road  from  Yarowslaf  to  Nijni  is 
one  of  the  most  hilly  in  the  interior  of  Russia ;  and  yet  I  do  not 
believe  that  the  natural  rampart  or  quay  that  crowns  the  banks 
of  the  Yolga  exceeds  the  height  of  a  house  of  five  or  six  stories 
in  Paris. 

There  is  one  danger  when  journeying  in  Russia  which  could 
hardly  be  foreseen — the  danger  the  traveller  runs  of  breaking  his 
head  against  the  cover  of  his  caliche.  He  who  intends  visiting 
the  country  need  not  smile,  for  the  peril  is  actual  and  imminent. 
The  logs  of  which  the  bridges  and  often  the  roads  themselves 
are  made,  render  the  carriages  liable  to  shocks  so  violent,  that 
the  traveller,  when  not  warned,  would  be  thrown  out  if  his  equi- 
page were  open,  and  would  break  his  neck  if  the  head  were  up. 
It  is  therefore  advisable  in  Russia,  to  procure  a  carriage  the  top 
of  which  is  as  lofty  as  possible.  A  bottle  of  Seltzer-water,  sub- 
stantial as  those  bottles  are,  has,  although  well  packed  in  hay, 
been  broken  under  my  seat  by  the  violence  of  the  jolts. 


PORT-HOUSES.  385 

Yesterday,  I  slept  in  a  post-house,  where  there  was  a  want  of 
every  common  convenience.     My  carriage  is  so   uncomfortable, 
and   the  roads  are  so  rough,  that  I  cannot  journey  more  than 
twenty-four  hours  together  without  suffering  from  violent  head- 
ache, and,  therefore,  as  I  prefer  a  bad  lodging  to  brain-fever,  I 
stop  wherever  we  may  happen  to  be.    The  greatest  rarity  in  these 
out-of-the-way  lodgings,  and  indeed  in  all  Russia,  is  clean  linen. 
I  carry  my  bed  with  me,  but  I  cannot  burden  myself  with  much 
store  of  bed-clothes  ;  and  the  table-cloths  which  they  give  me  at 
the  post-houses,  as  substitutes,  have  always  been  in  use.     Yester- 
day, at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  master  of  the  post-house 
sent  to  a  village  more  than  a  league  distant  to   search  for  clean 
sheets  on  my  account.     I  should  have  protested  against  this  ex- 
cess of  zeal  in  my  feldjager,  but  I  did  not  know  of  it  until  the 
next  morning.     From  the  window  of  my  kennel,  by  the  obscured 
light  that  is  called  night  in  Russia,  I  could  admire  at  leisure  the 
eternal  Roman  peristyle,  which,  with    its  wooden,  whitewashed 
pediment  and  its  plaster  pillars,  adorns,  on  the  stable  side,  the 
Russian  post-houses.     The  constant  sight  of  this  clumsy  archi- 
tecture creates  a  nightmare  that  follows  me  from  one  end  of  the 
empire  to  the  other.     The  classic  column  has  become  the  sign 
of  a  public  building  in  Russia :  false  magnificence  here  displays 
itself  by  the  side  of  the  most  complete  penury ;  but  "  comfort," 
and  elegance  well  understood,  and  every  where  the  same,  are  not 
to  be  seen,  either  in  the  palace  of  the  wealthy,  where  the  saloons 
are  superb,  but  where  the  bed-chamber  is  only  a  screen,  or  yet 
in  the  huts  of  the  peasants.     There  may,  perhaps,  be  two  or 
three  exceptions  to  this  rule  in  the  whole  empire.     Even  Spain 
appears  to  me  less  in  want  than  Russia  of  objects  of  convenience 
and  necessity. 

Another  precaution  indispensable  to  a  traveller  in  this  coun- 
try is  a  Russian  lock.  All  the  Sclavonian  peasants  are  thieves,  in 
the  houses  if  not  on  the  highway.  When,  therefore,  you  have 
got  your  luggage  into  the  room  of  an  inn  full  of  different  classes 
of  people,  it  is  necessary  before  going  out  to  walk,  either  to  make 
your  servants  mount  guard  at  the  door,  or  to  lock  it.  One  of 
your  people  will  be  already  engaged  in  keeping  watch  over  the 
carriage ;  and  there  are  no  keys,  nor  even  locks  to  the  doors  of 
apartments  in  Russian  inns.  The  only  expedient,  therefore,  is  to 
be  provided  with  staples,  rings,  and  padlock.  With  these  you 
may  speedily  place  your  property  in  safety.  The  country  swarms 
with  the  most  adroit  and  audacious  of  robbers.  Their  depreda- 
tions are  so  frequent  that  justice  does  not  dare  to  be  rigorous. 
17  ' 


386  KOSTROMA. 

Every  thing  is  here  done  by  fits  and  starts,  or  with  exceptions, — 
a  capricious  system,  which  too  well  accords  with  the  ill-regulated 
minds  of  the  people,  who  are  as  indifferent  to  equity  in  action  as 
to  truth  in  speech. 

I,  yesterday,  visited  the  convent  ef  Kostroma,  and  saw  the 
apartments  of  Alexis  Romanoff  and  his  mother,  a  retreat  which 
Alexis  left  to  ascend  the  throne,  and  to  found  the  actual  reigning 
dynasty.  The  convent  was  like  all  the  others.  A  young  monk, 
who  had  not  been  fasting,  and  who  smelt  of  wine  at  a  considerable 
distance,  showed  me  the  house.  I  prefer  old  monks  with  white 
beards,  and  popes  with  bald  heads,  to  these  young,  well-fed 
recluses.  The  Treasury,  also,  resembled  those  I  had  seen  else- 
where. Would  the  reader  know  in  a  few  words,  what  is  Russia  ? 
Russia  is  a  country  where  the  same  persons  and  the  same  things 
are  every  where  to  be  seen.  This  is  so  true,  that  on  arriving  at 
any  place,  we  think  always  that  we  recognise  persons  whom  we 
had  left  elsewhere. 

At  Kunitcha,  the  ferry-boat  in  which  we  re-crossed  the  Volga 
had  sides  so  low,  that  the  smallest  thing  would  have  caused  it  to 
upset.  Nothing  has  ever  appeared  to  me  more  dull  and  gloomy 
than  this  little  town,  which  I  visited  during  a  cold  rain,  accom- 
panied with  wind,  that  kept  the  inhabitants  prisoners  in  their 
houses.  Had  the  wind  increased,  we  should  have  run  much  risk 
of  being  drowned  in  the  river.  I  recollected  that  at  Petersburg 
no  one  stirs  a  step  to  save  those  who  fall  into  the  Neva ;  and  I 
thought,  that  should  the  same  fate  happen  to  me  here,  not  an 
attempt  would  be  made  to  save  me  by  any  one  on  these  banks, 
which  are  populous  though  they  appear  a  desert,  so  gloomy  and 
silent  are  the  soil,  the  heavens,  and  the  inhabitants.  The  life  of 
man  has  little  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  Russians;  and,  judg- 
ing by  their  melancholy  air,  I  should  say  they  are  indifferent  to 
their  own  lives  as  well  as  to  those  of  others. 

Existence  is  so  fettered  and  restrained,  that  every  one  seems 
to  me  secretly  to  cherish  the  desire  of  changing  his  abode,  with- 
out possessing  the  power.  The  great  have  no  passports,  the  poor 
no  money,  and  all  remain  as  they  are,  patient  through  despair,  that 
is,  as  indifferent  about  death  as  about  life.  Resignation,  which 
is  every  where  else  a  virtue,  is  in  Russia  a  vice,  because  it  per- 
petuates the  compulsory  immobility  of  things. 

The  question  here,  is  not  one  of  political  liberty,  but  of  per- 
sonal independence,  of  freedom  of  movement,  and  even  of  the 
expression  of  natural  sentiment.  The  slaves  dare  only  quarrel  in 
to  be  angry  is  one  of  the  privileges  of  power.  The 


ACCIDENT    IN    A    FOREST.  38*7 

greater  the  appearance  of  calm  under  this  system,  the  more  do  I 
pity  the  people  :  tranquillity  or  the  knout  ! — this  is  for  them  the 
condition  of  existence.  The  knout  of  the  great  is  Siberia ;  and 
Siberia  itself  is  only  an  exaggeration  of  Russia. 


I  am  writing  in  the  midst  of  a  forest,  many  leagues  from  any 
habitation.  We  are  stopped,  in  a  deep  bed  of  sand,  by  an  acci- 
dent that  has  happened  to  my  carriage  ;  and  while  my  valet  is, 
with  the  aid  of  a  peasant  whom  Heaven  has  sent  us,  repairing  the 
damage,  I,  who  am  humbled  by  the  want  of  resources  which  I 
find  within  myself  for  such  an  occurrence,  and  who  feel  that  I 
should  only  be  in  the  way  of  the  workmen  if  I  attempted  to  assist 
them,  take  up  my  pen  to  prove  the  inutility  of  mental  culture, 
when  man,  deprived  of  all  the  accessories  of  civilisation,  is  obliged 
to  struggle,  without  any  other  resource  but  his  own  strengthr 
against  a  wild  nature,  still  armed  with  all  the  primitive  power 
that  it  received  from  Glod. 

As  I  have  before  said,  handsome  female  peasants  are  scarce 
in  Russia ;  but  when  they  are  handsome,  their  beauty  is  perfect. 
The  oval  or  almond  shape  of  their  eyes  imparts  a  peculiar  expres- 
sion ;  the  eyelid  is  finely  and  delicately  chiselled,  but  the  blue 
of  the  pupil  is  often  clouded,  which  reminds  one  of  the  ancient 
Sarmatians,  as  described  by  Tacitus  :  this  hue  gives  to  their 
veiled  glances  a  gentleness  and  an  innocence,  the  charm  of 
which  is  irresistible.  They  possess  all  the  vague  and  shadowy 
delicacy  of  the  women  of  the  North,  united  with  the  voluptuous- 
ness of  the  Oriental  females.  The  expression  of  kindness  in 
these  ravishing  creatures  inspires  a  singular  feeling — a  mixture 
of  respect  and  confidence.  He  must  visit  the  interior  of  Russia 
who  would  know  the  real  gifts  of  the  primitive  man,  and  all  that 
the  refinements  of  society  have  lost  for  him.  In  this  patriarchal 
land  it  is  civilisation  which  spoils  the  inhabitants.  The  £>clavo- 
nian  was  naturally  ingenuous,  musical,  and  almost  tender-hearted  ; 
the  drilled  Russian  is  false,  tyrannical,  imitative,  and  foolishly 
vain.  It  would  take  more  than  a  century  to  establish  an  accord 
between  the  national  manners  and  the  new  European  ideas;  sup- 
posing that,  all  the  while,  Russia  was  governed  by  enlightened 
princes, — friends  of  progress,  as  the  expression  now  is.  At  pre- 
sent, the  complete  separation  of  classes  makes  social  life  a  violent, 
immoral  thing.  It  might  be  supposed  that  it  was  from  this 
country  Rousseau  took  the  first  idea  of  his  system ;  for  it  is  not 


388  CIVILISATION    INJURIOUS. 

even  necessary  to  possess  the  resources  of  his  magic  eloquence  to 
prove  that  arts  and  sciences  have  done  more  evil  than  good  to 
the  Sclavonians.  The  future  will  show  the  world  whether  mili- 
tary and  political  glory  can  compensate  the  Russian  nation  for 
the  happiness  of  which  their  social  organisation  deprives  them. 

Elegance  is  inborn  among  the  men  of  pure  Sclavonian  blood. 
Their  character  unites  a  mixture  of  simplicity,  gentleness,  and 
sensibility,  which  seduces  all  hearts :  it  is  often  combined  with  a 
good  deal  of  irony  and  some  little  deceitfulness  ;  but,  when  the 
heart  is  naturally  amiable,  these  faults  are  transformed  into  a 
kind  of  grace.  The  people  further  possess  the  advantage  of  a 
countenance,  the  delicacy  in  the  expression  of  which  is  inimitable  ; 
it  influences,  by  an  unknown  charm,  by  the  exhibition  of  a  tender 
melancholy,  a  suffering  gentleness,  which  almost  always  springs 
from  a  secret  sense  of  evil,  hid  by  the  sufferer  from  himself,  in 
order  the  better  to  disguise  it  from  others.  The  Russians  are,  in 
short,  a  resigned  nation, — this  simple  description  explains  every 
thing.  The  man  who  is  deprived  of  liberty, — and  here  the  defini- 
tion of  that  word  extends  to  natural  rights  and  real  wants, — 
though  he  may  have  all  other  advantages,  is  like  a  plant  excluded 
from  the  air  :  in  vain  do  you  water  its  roots,  the  languishing  stem 
produces  a  few  leaves,  but  will  never  send  forth  flowers. 

The  true  Russians  have  something  peculiar  to  themselves, 
both  in  their  character,  their  countenance,  and  their  whole  bear- 
ing. Their  carriage  is  light,  and  all  their  movements  denote  a 
natural  superiority.  Their  eyes  are  large,  of  a  long  oval  shape, 
and  the  eyelid  is  but  little  raised.  Their  glance  combines  an  ex- 
pression of  sentiment  and  of  mischievousness  that  is  very  taking. 
The  Greeks,  in  their  creative  language,  called  the  inhabitants  of 
these  regions  Syromedes,  a  word  that  signifies  lizard-eyed  ;  the 
Latin  word  Sarmatian  is  derived  from  it.  This  expression  of  the 
eye  then  has  struck  all  attentive  observers.  The  forehead  of  the 
Russians  is  neither  very  lofty  nor  very  broad ;  but  its  form  is 
classic  and  graceful.  In  the  character  of  the  people,  both  distrust 
and  credulity,  roguishness  and  tenderness,  are  united, — and  these 
contrasts  have  a  charm.  The  Sclavonians  are  neither  coarse  nor 
apathetic,  like  most  other  northern  races.  Poetical  as  nature, 
their  imagination  mixes  with  all  their  affections ;  with  them,  love 
partakes  of  the  nature  of  superstition  ;  their  attachments  have 
more  delicacy  than  vivacity  :  always  refined,  even  when  impas- 
sioned, it  may  be  said  that  their  intellect  pervades  their  senti- 
ment. All  these  fugitive  shades  of  character  are  expressed  in 
their  glance, — that  glance  which  was  so  well  characterized  by  the 
Greeks. 


INDUSTRY  OF  THE  PEASANTS.  389 

The  ancient  Greeks  were  endowed  with  an  exquisite  talent 
for  appreciating  men  and  things,  and  for  describing  them  by 
names  ;  a  faculty  which  renders  their  language  rich  among  all 
the  European  languages,  and  their  poetry  divine  among  all  poetic 
schools. 

The  passionate  fondness  of  the  Russian  peasants  for  tea  proves 
to  me  the  elegance  of  their  nature,  and  well  accords  with  the  de- 
scription I  have  given  of  them.  Tea  is  a  refined  beverage  :  it  has 
become  in  Russia  an  absolute  necessary.  When  the  common 
people  ask  for  drink-money,  they  say,  for  tea,  no,  tchiai. 

This  instinct  of  good  taste  has  no  connection  with  mental  cul- 
ture 5  it  does  not  even  exclude  barbarism  and  cruelty,  but  it  ex- 
cludes vulgarity. 

The  spectacle  now  before  my  eyes  proves  to  me  the  truth  of 
what  I  have  always  heard  respecting  the  Russian's  singular  dex- 
terity and  industry. 

A  Muscovite  peasant  makes  it  a  principle  to  recognise  no  ob- 
stacles,— I  do  not  mean  to  his  own  desires,  unhappy  creature  ! 
but  to  the  orders  he  receives.  Aided  by  his  inseparable  hatchet, 
he  becomes  a  kind  of  magician,  who  creates  in  a  moment  all  that 
is  wanted  in  the  desert.  He  repairs  your  carriage,  or,  if  it  is 
beyond  repair,  he  makes  another,  a  kind  of  telega,  skilfully  avail- 
ing himself  of  the  remains  of  the  old  one  in  the  construction  of 
the  new.  I  was  advised  in  Moscow  to  travel  in  a  tarandasse,  and 
I  should  have  done  well  to  have  followed  that  advice ;  for  with 
such  an  equipage  there  is  never  danger  of  stopping  on  the  road. 
It  can  be  repaired,  and  even  reconstructed,  by  every  Russian 
peasant. 

If  you  wish  to  encamp,  this  universal  genius  will  build  you  a 
dwelling  for  the  night,  and  one  that  will  be  preferable  to  the 
taverns  in  the  towns.  After  having  established  you  as  comfort- 
ably as  you  can  expect  to  be,  he  wraps  himself  in  his  sheep-skin 
and  sleeps  at  the  door  of  your  new  house,  of  which  he  defends  the 
entrance  with  the  fidelity  of  a  dog  ;  or  else  he  will  seat  himself  at 
the  foot  of  a  tree  before  the  abode  that  he  has  erected,  and,  while 
continuing  to  gaze  on  the  sky,  he  will  relieve  the  solitude  of  your 
lodging  by  national  songs,  the  melancholy  of  which  awakes  a 
response  in  the  gentle  instincts  of  your  heart ;  for  an  innate  gift 
of  music  is  still  one  of  the  prerogatives  of  this  privileged  race. 
The  idea  that  it  would  be  only  just  that  he  should  share  with  you 
the  cabin  built  by  his  hands,  will  never  enter  his  head. 

Will  these  elites  of  their  race  remain  much  longer  concealed 
in  the  deserts  where  Providence,  with  some  design  of  its  own, 


390  RUSSIAN    MUSIC. 

keeps  them  in  reserve  ?  Providence  can  only  answer  !  The  ques- 
tion as  to  when  the  hour  of  deliverance,  and,  yet  more,  of  triumph 
shall  strike  for  them,  is  a  secret  with  God. 

I  am  struck  with  the  simplicity  of  the  ideas  and  sentiments  of 
these  men.  God,  the  King  of  heaven ;  the  Czar,  the  king  of 
earth — this  is  all  their  theory  :  the  orders,  and  even  the  caprices, 
of  the  master,  sanctioned  by  the  obedience  of  the  slave ;  this  suf- 
fices for  their  practice.  The  Russian  peasant  believes  that  he 
owes  both  body  and  soul  to  his  lord. 

Conforming  to  this  social  devotion,  he  lives  without  joy,  but 
not  without  pride  ;  for  pride  is  the  moral  element  essential  to  the 
life  of  all  intelligent  beings.  It  takes  every  kind  of  form,  even 
the  form  of  humility, — that  religious  modesty  discovered  by  Chris- 
tians. 

A  Russian  does  not  know  what  it  is  to  say  no  to  his  lord,  who 
represents  to  him  his  two  other  greater  masters,  God  and  the 
Emperor  ;  and  he  places  all  his  talent,  all  his  glory,  in  conquer- 
ing those  little  difficulties  of  existence  that  are  magnified,  and 
even  valued,  by  the  lower  orders  of  other  lands,  as  auxiliaries  in 
their  revenge  against  the  rich,  whom  they  consider  as  enemies,  be- 
cause they  are  esteemed  the  happy  of  the  earth. 

The  Russian  serfs  are  too  completely  stripped  of  all  the  bless- 
ings of  life  to  be  envious  ;  the  men  who  are  most  to  be  pitied  are 
they  who  no  longer  complain.  The  envious  among  us  are  those 
whose  ambitious  aims  have  failed  :  France,  that  land  of  easy  living 
and  rapid  fortune-making,  is  a  nursery  of  envious  people.  I  can- 
not feel  sympathy  with  the  regrets,  full  of  malice,  that  prey  on 
these  men,  whose  souls  are  enervated  by  the  luxuries  of  life  ;  but 
the  patience  of  the  peasants  here,  inspired  me  with  a  compassion 
— I  had  almost  said  with  an  esteem  that  is  profound.  The  polit- 
ical self-denial  of  the  Russians  is  abject  and  revolting  ;  their  do- 
mestic resignation  is  noble  and  touching.  The  vice  of  the  nation 
becomes  the  virtue  of  the  individual. 

The  plaintive  sadness  of  the  Russian  songs  strikes  every  fo- 
reigner;  but  this  music  isnotonly  melancholy,  it  is  also  scientific 
and  complicated  :  it  is  composed  of  inspired  melodies,  and,  at  the 
same  time  of  harmonious  combinations  exceedingly  abtruse,  and 
that  are  not  elsewhere  attained  except  by  study  and  calculation. 
Often,  in  travelling  through  villages,  I  stop  to  listen  to  pieces  ex- 
ecuted by  several  voices  with  a  precision  and  a  musical  instinct 
that  I  am  never  tired  of  admiring.  The  performers,  in  these 
rustic  quintetti,  guess  by  intuition  the  laws  of  counterpoint,  the 
rules  of  composition,  the  principles  of  harmony,  the  effects  of  the 


RUSSIAN    MUSIC.  391 

different  kinds  of  voice,  and  they  disdain  singing  in  unison.  They 
execute  series  of  concords,  elaborate,  unexpected,  and  interspersed 
with  shakes  and  delicate  ornaments,  which,  if  not  always  perfectly 
correct,  are  very  superior  to  the  national  melodies  heard  in  other 
lands. 

The  song  of  the  Russian  peasants  is  a  nasal  lamentation,  not 
very  agreeable  when  executed  by  one  voice ;  but  when  sung  in 
chorus,  these  complaints  assume  a  grave,  religious  character,  and 
produce  effects  of  harmony  that  are  surprising.  I  had  supposed 
the  Russian  music  to  have  been  brought  from  Byzantium,  but  I 
am  assured  that  it  is  indigenous  :  this  will  explain  the  profound 
melancholy  of  the  airs,  especially  of  those  which  affect  gaiety  by 
their  vivacity  of  movement.  If  the  Russians  do  not  know  how  to 
revolt  against  oppression,  they  know  how  to  sigh  and  groan  un- 
der it. 

Were  I  in  the  place  of  the  Emperor,  I  should  not  be  content 
with  forbidding  my  subjects  to  complain ;  I  should  also  forbid 
them  to  sing,  which  is  a  disguised  mode  of  complaining.  These 
accents  of  lament  are  avowals,  and  may  become  accusations :  so 
true  it  is  that  the  arts  themselves  under  despotism,  are  not  inno- 
cent ;  they  are  indirect  protestations. 

Hence,  no  doubt,  the  taste  of  the  government  and  the  cour- 
tiers for  the  works,  literary  or  artistical,  of  foreigners :  borrowed 
poetry  has  no  roots.  Among  a  people  of  slaves,  when  patriotic 
sentiments  produce  profound  emotions,  they  are  to  be  dreaded  : 
every  thing  that  is  national,  including  even  music,  becomes  a 
means  of  opposition. 

It  is  so  in  Russia,  where,  from  the  corners  of  the  farthest 
deserts,  the  voice  of  man  lifts  to  Heaven  vengeful  complaints ; 
demanding  from  Grod  the  portion  of  happiness  that  is  refused 
him  upon  earth.  Nothing  more  striking  reveals  the  habitual 
sufferings  of  the  people  than  the  mournfulness  of  their  pleasures. 
The  Russians  have  consolations,  but  no  enjoyments.  I  am  sur- 
prised that  no  one  before  me  should  have  warned  the  government 
of  its  imprudence  in  allowing  the  people  an  amusement  which 
betrays  their  misery  and  their  resignation.  He  who  is  powerful 
enough  to  oppress  men,  should,  for  consistency's  sake,  forbid 
them  to  sing. 


I  am  now  at  the  last  stage  on  the  road  to  Nijni.  We  have 
reached  it  on  three  wheels,  and  dragging  a  prop  of  wood  in  the 
place  of  the  fourth. 


392  A    PICTURE    OF    RUSSIA. 

A  great  part  of  the  road  from  Yarowslaf  to  Nijni  is  a  long 
garden  avenue,  traced  almost  always  in  a  straight  line,  broader 
than  the  great  avenue  in  our  Champs  Elysees  at  Paris,  and 
flanked  on  either  side  by  two  smaller  alleys,  carpeted  with  turf 
and  shaded  by  birch-trees.  The  road  is  easy,  for  they  drive 
nearly  always  upon  the  grass,  except  when  crossing  marshy  tracts 
by  means  of  elastic  bridges;  a  kind  of  floating  floors,  more 
curious  than  safe  either  for  the  carriages  or  the  horses.  A  road 
on  which  grows  so  much  grass  can  be  little  frequented,  and  is 
therefore  the  more  easily  kept  in  repair.  Yesterday,  before  we 
broke  down,  I  was  praising  this  road,  which  we  were  then  tra- 
velling at  full  gallop,  to  my  feldjager.  "  No  doubt  it  is  beauti- 
ful," replied  the  individual  addressed,  whose  figure  resembles 
that  of  a  wasp,  whose  features  are  sharp  and  dry,  and  whose 
manners  are  at  once  timid  and  threatening,  like  hatred  sup- 
pressed by  fear  :  "  no  doubt  it  is  beautiful — it  is  the  great  road 
to  Siberia." 

These  words  chilled  me  through.  It  is  for  my  pleasure,  I 
said  to  myself,  that  I  travel  this  road  ;  but  what  have  been  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  many  unfortunate  beings,  who  have 
travelled  it  before  me?  These  thoughts  and  feelings,  evoked  by 
the  imagination,  took  possession  of  my  mind.  Siberia ! — that 
Russian  hell,  is,  with  all  its  phantoms,  incessantly  before  me.  It 
has  upon  me  the  effect  that  the  eye  of  the  basilisk  has  upon  the 
fascinated  bird. 

What  a  country  is  this !  a  plain  without  limits  and  without 
colours,  with  only  here  and  there  some  few  inequalities  in  the 
surface,  a  few  fields  of  oats  and  rye,  a  few  scattered  birch  and 
pine  woods  in  the  distance,  villages  built  of  grey  boards  along 
the  lines  of  road ;  on  rather  more  elevated  sites,  at  every  twenty, 
thirty,  or  fifty  leagues,  towns,  the  vast  size  of  which  swallows  up 
the  inhabitants,  and  immense,  colourless  rivers,  dull  as  the 
heavens  they  reflect !  Winter  and  death  are  felt  to  be  hovering 
over  these  scenes,  giving  to  every  object  a  funereal  hue ;  the  ter- 
rified traveller,  at  the  end  of  a  few  weeks,  feels  as  if  he  were 
buried  alive,  and,  stifling,  struggles  to  burst  his  coffin-lid,  that 
leaden  veil  that  separates  him  from  the  living. 

Do  not  go  to  the  North  to  amuse  yourself,  unless  at  least 
you  seek  your  amusement  in  study ;  for  there  is  much  here  to 
study. 

I  was  then  travelling  upon  the  great  road  to  Siberia,  and 
while  absorbed  in  the  reflection  it  so  naturally  suggested,  I  saw 
in  the  distance  a  group  of  armed  men,  who  had  stopped  under 
one  of  the  side  alleys  of  the  road. 


EXILES    ON   THE   ROAD.  393 

"  What  are  those  soldiers  doing  there  ?  "  I  asked  my  courier. 

"  They  are  Cossacks,"  he  replied,  "  conducting  exiles  to 
Siberia  !  " 

It  is  not,  then,  a  dream,  it  is  not  the  mythology  of  the  ga- 
zettes ;  I  see  there  the  real  unhappy  beings,  the  actual  exiles, 
proceeding  wearily  on  foot  to  seek  the  land  where  they  must  die 
forgotten  by  the  world,  far  from  all  that  is  dear  to  them,  alone 
with  the  Grod  who  never  created  them  for  such  a  fate.  Perhaps 
I  have  met,  or  shall  meet,  their  wives  or  mothers  :  for  they  are 
not  criminals ;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  Poles — the  heroes  of 
misfortune  and  devotion.  Tears  came  into  my  eyes  as  I  ap- 
proached these  unhappy  men,  near  to  whom  I  dared  not  even 
stop  lest  I  should  be  suspected  by  my  Argus.  Alas  !  before 
such  sufferings  the  sentiment  of  my  impotent  compassion  hu- 
miliates me,  and  anger  rises  above  commiseration  in  my  heart. 
I  could  wish  to  be  far  away  from  a  country  where  the  miserable 
creature  who  acts  as  my  courier  can  become  formidable  enough 
to  compel  me,  in  his  presence,  to  dissimulate  the  most  natural 
feelings  of  my  soul.  In  vain  do  I  repeat  to  myself  that,  perhaps, 
our  convicts  are  still  worse  off  than  the  colonists  of  Siberia ; 
there  is  in  that  distant  exile,  a  vague  poetry,  which  adds  to  the 
severity  of  the  sentence  all  the  influence  of  the  imagination  ;  and 
this  inhuman  alliance  produces  a  frightful  result.  Besides,  our 
convicts  are  solemnly  convicted  ;  but  a  few  months'  abode  in  Rus- 
sia suffices  to  convince  us  that  there  are  no  laws  there. 

There  were  three  exiles,  and  they  were  all  innocent  in  my 
eyes ;  for  under  a  despotism,  the  only  criminal  is  the  man  who 
goes  unpunished.  These  three  convicts  were  escorted  by  six  Cos- 
sacks fon  horseback.  The  head  of  my  carriage  was  closed,  and 
the  nearer  we  approached  the  group,  the  more  narrowly  did  the 
courier  strive  to  watch  the  expression  of  my  countenance.  I  was 
greatly  struck  with  the  efforts  he  made  to  persuade  me  that  they 
were  only  simple  malefactors,  and  that  there  was  no  political  con- 
vict among  them.  I  preserved  a  gloomy  silence :  the  pains  that 
he  took  to  reply  to  my  thoughts,  appeared  to  me  very  signifi- 
cative. 

Frightful  sagacity  of  the  subjects  of  despotism  !  all  are  spies, 
eveii  as  amateurs,  and  without  compensation. 

The  last  stages  of  the  road  to  Nijni  are  long  and  difficult, 
owing  to  the  sand-beds,  which  get  deeper  and  deeper,*  until  the 

*  A  chaussee  is  being  made  from  Moscow  to  Nijni,  which  will  be  soon 
completed. 

17* 


394  SITE    OF    NIJNI-NOVGOROD. 

carriages  become  almost  buriod  in  them.  They  conceal  immense, 
moveable  blocks  of  wood  and  stone,  very  dangerous  to  the  car- 
riages and  horses.  This  part  of  the  road  is  bordered  by  forests,  in 
which,  at  every  half  league,  are  encampments  of  cossacks,  designed 
to  protect  the  journeying  of  the  merchants  who  resort  to  the  fair. 
Such  a  precaution  reminds  me  of  the  middle  ages. 

My  wheel  is  repaired,  so  that  I  hope  to  reach  Nijni  before 
evening. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Site  of  Nijni-Novgorod.— Predilection  of  the  Emperor  for  that  City.—  The  Kremlin  of  Nijni.— 
Concourse  at  the  Fair. — The  Governor. — Bridge  of  the  Oka. — Difficulty  in  obtaining  a 
Lodging. — The  Plague  of  Persicas. — Pride  of  the  Feldjager. — The  Fair-Ground. — Subter- 
ranean City.— Singular  Appearance  of  the  River.— The  City  of  Tea— of  Rags— of  Wheel- 
wrights' Work — of  Iron".— Origin  of  the  Fair. — Persian  Village.— Salt  fish  from  the  Caspi- 
an.—Leather.— Furs. — Lazzaronis  of  the  North.— Badly  chosen  Site.— Commercial  Cre- 
dit of  the  Serfs— their  Mode  of  Calculating.— Bad  Faith  of  the  Nobles.— Prices  of  Merchan- 
dise —Turquoises  of  the  Bucharians.—Kirguis  Horses.— The  Fair  after  Sunset.— The  effect 
of  Music  in  Russia. 

THE  situation  of  Nijni  is  the  most  beautiful  that  I  have  beheld  in 
Russia.  I  see  no  longer  a  little  ridge  of  low  banks  falling  upon 
a  large  river,  but  a  real  mountain,  which  looks  down  on  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Volga  and  the  Oka,  two  equally  noble  rivers ;  for 
the  Oka,  at  its  mouth,  appears  as  large  as  the  more  celebrated 
stream.  The  lofty  town  of  Nijni,  built  on  this  mountain,  com- 
mands a  plain,  vast  as  the  sea.  A  land  without  bounds  spreads 
before  it,  and  at  its  foot  is  held  the  largest  fair  in  the  world.  Du- 
ring six  weeks  of  the  year  the  commerce  of  the  two  richest  quar- 
ters of  the  globe  meet  at  the  confluence  of  the  Oka  and  the  Volga. 
It  is  a  spot  worthy  of  being  painted.  Hitherto,  the  only  truly  pictu- 
resque scenes  that  I  had  admired  in  Russia  were  the  streets  of  Mos- 
cow and  the  quays  of  Petersburg.  But  those  scenes  were  the  cre- 
ations of  man  :  here,  the  country  is  naturally  beautiful.  The  an- 
cient city  of  Nijni,  instead,  however,  of  seeking  the  rivers,  and  profit- 
ing by  the  riches  they  offer,  hides  itself  behind  the  mountain  ;  and 
there,  lost  in  the  background,  seems  to  shrink  from  its  glory  and 
prosperity.  This  ill-advised  situation  has  struck  the  Emperor 
Nicholas,  who  exclaimed  the  first  time  he  saw  the  place — "  At 
Nijni  nature  has  done  every  thing,  but  man  has  spoilt  all."  To 
remedy  the  errors  of  the  founders  of  Nijni-Novgorod,  a  suburb, 
in  the  form  of  a  quay,  has  been  built  under  the  hill,  on  that  one 
of  the  two  points  of  land  separating  the  rivers,  which  forms  the 


THE    KREMLIN    OF    NIJNI.  395 

right  bank  of  the  Oka.  This  new  town  increases  every  year ;  it 
is  becoming  more  populous  and  important  than  the  ancient  city, 
from  which  it  is  separated  by  the  old  Kremlin  of  Nijni ;  for  every 
Russian  city  has  its  Kremlin. 

The  fair  is  held  on  the  other  side  of  the  Oka,  upon  a  low 
tract,  which  forms  a  triangle  between  it  and  the  Volga.  The 
Oka  is  crossed  by  a  bridge  of  boats,  which  serves  as  the  road 
from  the  city  to  the  fair,  and  which  appears  as  long  as  that  of 
the  Rhine  at  Mayence.  The  two  banks  of  the  river  thus  con- 
nected, are  very  different  in  character  :  the  one  which  is  the 
promontory  of  Nijni,  rises  majestically  in  the  midst  of  the  plain 
called  Russia ;  the  other,  nearly  on  a  level  with  the  water  which 
inundates  it  during  a  part  of  the  year,  forms  a  portion  of  this 
immense  plain.  The  singular  beauty  of  the  contrast  did  not 
escape  the  glance  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas  :  that  prince,  with  his 
characteristic  sagacity,  has  also  perceived  that  Nijni  is  one  of 
the  most  important  points  in  his  empire.  He  is  very  fond  of 
this  central  spot,  thus  favoured  by  nature,  and  which  has  become 
the  rendezvous  of  the  most  distant  populations,  who  here  congre- 
gate from  all  parts,  drawn  together  by  a  powerful  commercial 
interest.  His  Majesty  has  neglected  nothing  that  could  tend  to 
beautify,  enlarge,  and  enrich  the  city.  The  fair  of  Makarief, 
which  was  held  formerly  on  the  estate  of  a  boyar,  twenty  leagues 
below,  following  the  course  of  the  Volga  towards  Asia,  was  for- 
feited for  the  benefit  of  the  crown  and  country ;  and  the  Em- 
peror Alexander  transferred  it  to  Nijni.  I  regret  the  Asiatic 
fair  held  on  the  domains  of  a  Muscovite  prince  :  it  must  have 
been  more  original  and  picturesque,  though  less  immense  and 
regular  than  the  one  I  find  here. 

I  have  already  said  that  every  Russian  city  has  its  Kremlin, 
just  as  every  Spanish  city  has  its  Alcazar.  The  Kremlin  of 
Nijni,  with  its  many-shaped  towers,  its  pinnacles  and  embattled 
ramparts,  which  circle  round  a  mountain  far  loftier  than  the  hill 
of  the  Kremlin  at  Moscow,  is  nearly  half  a  league  in  circum- 
ference. 

When  the  traveller  perceives  this  fortress  from  the  plain  he 
is  struck  with  astonishment.  It  is  the  pharos,  towards  whose 
shining  turrets  and  white  walls,  rising  above  the  stunted  forest 
pines,  he  shapes  his  course  through  the  sandy  deserts  which  de- 
fend the  approach  to  Nijni  on  the  side  of  Yarowslaf.  The  effect 
of  this  national  architecture  is  always  powerful :  but  here,  the 
grotesque  towers  and  Christian  minarets  that  constitute  the  orna- 
ment of  all  the  kremlins,  are  heightened  in  effect  by  the  striking 


396  CONCOURSE   AT   THE    FAIR. 

character  of  the  site,  which  in  certain  places  opposes  real  preci- 
pices to  the  creations  of  the  architect.  In  the  thickness  of  the 
walls  have  been  worked,  as  at  Moscow,  staircases,  which  lead, 
from  battlement  to  battlement,  up  to  the  very  summit  of  the 
crowning  ramparts.  These  commanding  stairs,  with  the  towers 
by  which  they  are  flanked,  the  slopes,  the  vaults,  the  arcades 
which  sustain  them,  form  a  picture  from  whichsoever  point  of  ap- 
proach they  are  viewed. 

The  fair  of  Nijni,  now  become  the  most  considerable  in  the 
world,  is  the  rendezvous  of  people  the  least  alike  in  person, 
costume,  language,  religion,  and  manners.  Men  from  Thibet, 
from  Bucharia,  from  the  regions  bordering  upon  China,  come  to 
meet  Persians,  Finns,  Greeks,  English,  and  Parisians :  it  is  like 
the  merchants'  doomsday.  The  number  of  strangers  present  at 
Nijni  every  day  during  the  fair,  exceeds  two  hundred  thousand. 
The  men  who  compose  this  yearly  gathering  come  and  go  daily ; 
but  the  average  number  always  continues  pretty  nearly  the 
same;  nevertheless,  on  certain  days,  there  are  at  Nijni  as  many 
as  three  hundred  thousand.  The  usual  consumption  of  bread  in 
the  pacific  camp  amounts  to  four  hundred  thousand  pounds 
weight  per  day.  Except  at  the  season  of  this  saturnalia  of  trade 
and  industry,  the  city  is  lifeless.  Nijni  scarcely  numbers  twenty 
thousand  stationary  inhabitants,  who  are  lost  in  its  vast  streets 
and  naked  squares  during  the  nine  months  that  the  fair-ground 
remains  forsaken. 

The  fair  occasions  little  disorder.  In  Russia  disorder  is  un- 
known :  it  would  be  a  progressive  movement,  for  it  is  the  child 
of  liberty.  The  love  of  gain,  and  the  ever-increasing  need  of  lux- 
uries felt  now  by  even  barbarous  nations,  cause  the  semi-barbar- 
ous populations  who  resort  here  from  Persia  and  Bucharia  to 
recognise  the  advantages  of  orderly  demeanour  and  good  faith : 
besides,  it  must  be  admitted  that  in  general  the  Mohammedans 
are  upright  in  money  matters. 

Though  I  have  only  been  a  few  hours  in  the  city  I  have 
already  seen  the  governor.  I  had  several  nattering  letters  of 
introduction  to  him  :  he  appears  hospitable,  and,  for  a  Russian, 
open  and  communicative.  His  name  is  illustrious  in  the  ancient 
history  of  Russia — it  is  that  of  Boutourline.  The  Boutourlines 
are  a  family  of  old  boyars ;  a  class  of  men  that  is  becoming  rare. 

I  have  scarcely  encountered  any  really  dense  crowd  in  Russia, 
except  at  Nijui,  on  the  bridge  over  the  Oka,  the  only  road  which 
leads  from  the  city  to  the  fair-ground,  and  the  road  also  by  which 
we  approach  Nijiii  from  Yarowslaf.  At  the  entrance  of  the  fair, 


DIFFICULTY    OF    OBTAINING    A    LODGING.  397 

you  turn  to  the  right  to  cross  the  bridge,  leaving  on  the  left  the 
booths,  and  the  temporary  palace  of  the  governor,  a  pavilion 
which  forms  a  species  of  administrative  observatory,  whither  he 
repairs  every  morning,  and  from  whence  he  surveys  all  the 
streets,  all  the  rows  of  shops,  and  presides  over  the  general  ar- 
rangements of  the  fair.  The  dust,  the  din,  the  carriages,  the 
foot-passengers,  the  soldiers  charged  with  maintaining  order, 
greatly  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  bridge,  the  use  and  character 
of  which  it  is  difficult  at  first  to  understand  ;  for  the  surface  of 
the  water  being  covered  by  a  multitude  of  boats,  at  the  first 
glance,  you  suppose  the  river  to  be  dry.  The  boats  are  so 
crowded  together  at  the  confluence  of  the  Volga  and  the  Oka, 
that  the  latter  river  may  be  crossed  by  striding  from  junk  to 
junk.  I  use  this  Chinese  word  because  a  great  portion  of  the 
vessels  which  resort  to  Nijni  bring  to  the  fair  the  merchandise, 
more  especially  the  tea,  of  China. 

Yesterday,  on  arriving,  I  expected  that  our  horses  would 
have  run  over  twenty  individuals  before  reaching  the  quay  af  the 
Oka,  which  is  New  Nijna,  a  suburb  that  will  in  a  few  years  more 
be  very  extensive. 

When  I  had  gained  the  desired  shore,  I  found  that  many 
other  difficulties  awaited  me :  before  every  thing  else  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  obtain  a  lodging,  and  the  inns  were  full.  My  feldjager 
knocked  at  every  door,  and  always  returned  with  the  same 
smile,  ferocious  by  its  very  immobility,  to  tell  me  that  he  could 
not  procure  a  single  chamber.  He  advised  me  to  appeal  to  the 
hospitality  of  the  governor ;  but  this  I  was  unwilling  to  do. 

At  length,  arrived  at  the  extremity  of  the  long  street  that 
forms  this  suburb,  at  the  foot  of  the  steep  hill  which  leads  to  the 
old  city,  and  the  summit  of  which  is  crowned  by  the  Kremlin  of 
Nijni,  we  perceived  a  coffee-house,  the  approach  to  which  was  ob- 
structed by  a  covered  public  market,  from  whence  issued  odours 
that  were  any  thing  but  perfumes.  Here  I  alighted,  and  was 
politely  received  by  the  landlord,  who  conducted  me  through  a 
series  of  apartments,  all  tilled  with  men  in  pelisses,  drinking  tea 
and  other  liquors,  until,  by  bringing  me  to  the  last  room,  he 
demonstrated  to  me  that  he  had  not  one  single  chamber  unoc- 
cupied. 

"  This  room  forms  the  corner  of  your  house,"  I  observed : 
"  has  it  a  private  entrance  ?" 

"  Yes." 

i€  Very  good  :  lock  the  door  which  separates  it  from  the  other 
apartments,  and  let  me  have  it  for  a  bed-chamber." 


398  PLAGUE    OF    PER8ICAS. 

The  air  that  I  breathed  already  suffocated  me.  It  was  a  mix- 
ture of  the  most  opposite  emanations  :  the  grease  of  sheep-skins, 
the  musk  of  dressed  leather,  the  blacking  of  boots,  the  smell  of 
cabbage,  which  is  the  principal  food  of  the  peasants,  the  steam  of 
coffee,  tea,  liqueurs,  and  brandy,  all  thickened  the  atmosphere. 
The  whole  was  poison :  but  what  could  I  do  ?  it  was  my  last 
resource.  I  hoped,  also,  that  after  being  cleared  of  its  guests, 
swept  and  washed,  the  bad  odours  of  the  apartment  would  dissi- 
pate. I  therefore  insisted  on  the  feldjager  clearly  explaining  my 
proposal  to  the  keeper  of  the  coffee-house. 

"  I  shall  lose  by  it,"  replied  the  man. 

"  I  will  pay  you  what  you  please ;  provided  you  also  find 
somewhere  a  lodging  for  my  valet  and  my  courier." 

The  bargain  was  concluded;  and  here  I  am,  quite  proud  of 
having  taken  by  storm,  in  a  dirty  public-house,  a  room  for  which 
I  have  to  pay  more  than  the  price  of  the  finest  apartment  in  the 
Hotel  des  Princes,  at  Paris.  It  is  only  in  Russia,  in  a  country 
where  the  whims  of  men  supposed  to  be  powerful,  know  no  ob- 
stacle, that  one  is  able  to  convert,  in  a  moment,  the  public  hall 
of  a  coffee-house  into  a  sleeping  apartment. 

My  feldjager  undertook  to  make  the  drinkers  retire :  they 
rose  without  offering  the  least  objection,  were  crowded  into  the 
next  room,  and  the  door  was  fastened  upon  them  by  the  species 
of  lock  I  have  already  mentioned.  A  score  of  tables  filled  up 
the  chamber :  but  a  swarm  of  priests  in  their  robes,  in  other 
words,  a  troop  of  waiters  in  white  shirts,  precipitated  themselves 
upon  the  furniture,  and  left  me  with  bare  walls  in  a  few  moments. 
But  what  a  sight  then  met  my  eyes !  Under  the  spot  where 
each  table  had  stood,  under  every  stool,  multitudes  of  vermin 
were  crawling,  of  a  kind  I  had  never  before  seen :  they  were 
black  insects,  about  half  an  inch  long,  thick,  soft,  viscid,  and  tol- 
erably nimble  in  their  movements.  This  loathsome  animal  is 
known  in  a  portion  of  Eastern  Europe,  in  Volhynia,  the  Ukraine, 
Russia,  and  a  part  of  Poland,  where  it  is  called,  I  believe,  per- 
sica,  because  it  was  brought  from  Asia.  I  cannot  recollect  the 
name  given  to  it  by  the  coffee-house  waiters  of  Nijni.  On  seeing 
the  floor  of  my  chamber  mottled  over  with  these  moving  reptiles, 
crushed  under  the  foot  at  every  step,  not  by  hundreds,  but  by 
thousands,  and  on  perceiving  the  new  kind  of  ill-savour  exhaled 
by  this  massacre,  I  was  seized  with  despair,  fled  from  my  cham- 
ber to  the  street,  and  proceeded  to  present  myself  to  the  governor. 
I  did  not  re-enter  my  detestable  lodging  until  assured  that  it 
had  been  rendered  as  clean  as  was  practicable.  My  bed,  filled 


PRIDE    OF    THE    FELDJAGER.  399 

with  fresh  hay,  was  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  its  four 
feet  standing  in  earthen  vessels  full  of  water.  Notwithstanding 
these  precautions,  I  did  not  fail  to  find,  on  awaking  from  a  rest- 
less unrefreshing  sleep,  two  or  three  persicas  on  my  pillow.  The 
reptiles  are  not  noxious ;  but  I  cannot  express  the  disgust  with 
which  they  inspire  me.  The  filthiness,  the  apathy,  which  their 
presence  in  the  habitations  of  man  betrays,  make  me  regret  my 
journey  to  this  part  of  the  globe.  I  feel  as  though  there  were  a 
moral  degradation  in  being  approached  by  these  offal-bred  crea- 
tures :  physical  antipathy  triumphs  over  all  the  efforts  of  reason. 
A  merchant  of  Moscow,  who  has  the  most  splendid  and  ex- 
tensive silk-magazine  in  the  fair,  is  coming  this  morning  to  take 
me  over  it,  and  to  show  me  every  thing  in  detail. 


I  again  find  here  the  dust  and  suffocating  heat  of  a  southern 
clime.  I  was  therefore  well  advised  not  to  go  on  foot  to  the 
fair  :  but  the  concourse  of  strangers  is  at  this  time  so  great  at 
Nijui,  that  I  could  not  get  a  vehicle  on  hire  ;  I  was  therefore  oblig- 
ed to  use  the  by-no-means  elegant  one  in  which  I  arrived  from 
Moscow,  and  to  attach  to  it  two  horses  only,  which  annoyed  me 
as  much  as  though  I  had  been  a  Russian.  It  is  not  through 
vanity  that  they  drive  four  horses  ;  the  animals  have  spirit,  but 
they  want  power ;  they  soon  tire  when  they  have  much  weight  to 
draw. 

On  entering  the  carriage  with  the  merchant  who  was  so  good 
as  to  act  as  my  cicerone,  and  with  his  brother,  I  told  my  feldjai- 
ger  to  follow  us.  He,  without  hesitating  or  waiting  to  ask  my 
permission,  deliberately  stepped  into  the  caleche,  and,  with  a 

coolness  that  amazed  me,  seated  himself  by  the  side  of  M. 's 

brother,  who,  notwithstanding  my  expostulations,  was  determined 
to  sit  with  his  back  to  the  horses.  In  this  country,  it  is  not  un- 
usual to  see  the  owner  of  a  carriage  seated  facing  the  horses,  when 
even  he  is  not  by  the  side  of  a  lady,  whilst  his  friends  place  them- 
selves opposite.  This  unpoliteness,  which  would  not  be  commit- 
ted among  us  excepting  where  there  was  the  strictest  intimacy, 
here  astonishes  nobody. 

Fearing  lest  the  familiarity  of  the  courier  should  shock  my 
obliging  companions,  I  considered  it  necessary  to  make  him  re- 
move ;  and  told  him,  very  civilly,  to  mount  the  seat  by  the  side 
of  the  coachman. 


400  PRIDE    OF    THE    FELDJAGER. 

"  I  shall  do  nothing  of  the  kind,"  answered  the  feldjager,  with 
imperturbable  sang  froid. 

"  What  is  the  reason  that  you  do  not  obey  me  ?  "  I  asked,  in 
a  yet  calmer  tone  ;  for  I  know  that  among  this  half-oriental  na- 
tion, it  is  necessary  to  maintain  perfect  impassibility  in  order  to 
preserve  your  authority. 

We  spoke  in  German  : — "  It  would  be  a  derogation,"  answer- 
ed the  Russian,  in  the  same  quiet  tone. 

This  reminded  me  of  the  disputes  about  precedence  among 
the  boyars,  which,  under  the  reigns  of  the  Ivans,  were  often 
so  serious  as  to  fill  many  pages  of  the  Russian  history  of  that 
epoch. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  a  derogation  ?  "  I  continued.  "  Is 
not  that  the  place  which  you  have  occupied  since  we  left 
Moscow  ?  " 

"  It  is  true,  sir,  that  is  my  place  in  travelling ;  but  in  taking 
a  drive,  I  ought  to  be  in  the  carriage.  I  wear  a  uniform." 

This  uniform,  which  I  have  noticed  elsewhere,  is  that  of  an 
agent  of  the  post. 

"  I  wear  a  uniform,  sir  ;  I  possess  a  rank  in  the  tchinn  ;  I  am 
not  a  private  servant ;  I  am  in  the  employ  of  the  Emperor." 

"  I  care  very  little  what  you  are ;  though  I  never  said  to  you 
that  you  were  a  servant." 

"  I  should  have  the  appearance  of  being  one,  were  I  to  sit  in 
that  place  when  you  take  a  ride  in  the  city.  I  have  been  many 
years  in  the  service ;  and,  as  a  recompense  for  my  good  conduct, 
they  hold  out  to  me  the  prospect  of  nobility  :  I  am  endeavouring 
to  obtain  it,  for  I  am  ambitious." 

This  confusion  of  our  old  aristocratic  ideas  with  the  new  va- 
nity instilled  by  despots  into  a  people  diseased  with  envy,  took 
me  by  surprise.  I  had  before  me  a  specimen  of  the  worst  kind 
of  emulation — that  of  the  parvenant  already  giving  himself  the 
airs  of  the  parvenu  ! 

After  a  moment's  silence,  I  answered :  "  I  approve  your 
pride,  if  it  is  well  founded  ;  but  being  little  acquainted  with  the 
usages  of  your  country,  I  shall,  before  allowing  you  to  enter  my 
coach,  submit  your  claims  to  the  governor.  My  intention  is  to 
require  nothing  from  you  beyond  what  you  owe  me  in  accordance 
with  the  orders  given  you  when  you  were  sent  to  me  :  in  my  un- 
certainty as  to  your  pretensions,  I  dispense  with  your  services 
for  to-day ;  I  shall  proceed  without  you." 

I  felt  inclined  to  laugh  at  the  tone  of  importance  with  which 
I  spoke ;  but  I  considered  the  dramatic  dignity  necessary  to  my 


THE    CITY    OF    THE    FAIR.  401 

comfort  during  the  rest  of  the  journey.  There  is  nothing,  how- 
ever ridiculous,  which  may  not  be  excused  by  the  conditions  and 
the  inevitable  consequences  of  despotism. 

This  aspirant  to  nobility,  and  scrupulous  observer  of  the  eti- 
quette of  the  highway,  costs  me,  notwithstanding  his  pride,  three 
hundred  francs,  in  wages,  per  month.  He  reddened  when  he 
heard  my  last  words,  and,  without  making  any  reply,  he  left  the 
carriage  and  re-entered  the  house  in  silence. 

The  ground  on  which  the  fair  is  held  is  very  spacious ;  and  I 
congratulated  myself  that  I  did  not  proceed  to  that  city  of  a  month 
on  foot,  for  the  heat  continues  to  be  great  during  a  day  in  which 
the  sun  still  darts  his  rays  for  fifteen  hours. 

The  men  of  every  land,  but  especially  those  of  the  extreme 
East,  here  meet  together  :  these  men  are  however  more  singular 
in  name  than  in  appearance.  All  the  Asiatics  resemble  each 
other,  or  they  may.  at  least,  be  divided  into  two  classes :  those 
having  the  faces  of  apes,  as  the  Calmucs,  Mongols,  Baskirs,  and 
Chinese  :  and  those  having  the  Greek  profile,  as  the  Circassians, 
Persians',  Georgians,  Indians,  &o. 

The  fair  of  Nijni  is  held,  as  I  have  already  said,  on  an  immense 
triangle  of  sandy  and  perfectly  level  land,  which  runs  to  a  point 
between  the  Oka,  at  its  embouchure  into  the  Volga,  and  the 
broad  stream  of  the  latter  river.  It  is,  therefore,  bordered  on 
either  side  by  one  of  the  two  rivers.  The  soil  upon  which  so 
immense  an  amount  of  wealth  is  heaped,  scarcely  rises  above  the 
water.  This  merchant-city  consists  of  a  vast  assemblage  of  long 
and  broad  streets  :  their  perfect  straightness  injures  their  pictu- 
resque effect.  A  dozen  of  buildings  called  Chinese  pavilions  rise 
above  the  shops  ;  but  their  fantastic  style  is  not  sufficient  to  correct 
the  dulness  and  monotony  of  the  general  aspect  of  the  edifices. 
The  whoie  forms  an  oblong  bazaar,  which  appears  solitary,  so  vast 
is  it  in  extent.  The  dense  crowds  that  obstruct  the  approaches 
disappear  as  soon  as  you  penetrate  the  interior  lines  of  stalls. 
The  city  of  the  fair  is,  like  all  the  other  modern  Russian  cities,  too 
vast  for  its  population,  although  that  population,  including  the 
amphibious  community  scattered  in  boats  on  the  river,  and  among 
the  flying  camps  which  environ  the  fair  properly  so  called,  amounts 
to  200,000  souls.  The  houses  of  the  merchants  stand  upon  a  sub- 
terranean city,  an  immense  vaulted  sewer ;  in  which  labyrinth  he 
would  be  lost  who  should  attempt  to  penetrate  without  an  ex- 
perienced guide.  Each  street  in  the  fair  is  doubled  by  a  gallery, 
which  follows  its  whole  length  under  ground,  and  serves  as  an  issue 
for  all  refuse.  The  sewej^-are  eofiftk^cted  of  stone,  and  are 

STATE  GFCALIFOr 

BBNICIA  DISTRICT 
.  LIBRARY.,,/ 


402  AQUATIC    CITY. 

cleansed  several  times  daily,  by  a  multitude  of  pumps,  which  in- 
troduce the  water  from  the  neighbouring  rivers.  They  are 
entered  by  large  and  handsome  stone  staircases. 

These  catacombs  of  filth,  which  serve  also  for  the  prevention 
of  every  thing  offensive  in  the  open  streets,  are  placed  under  the 
charge  of  Cossacks,  who  form  its  police,  and  who  politely  invite 
the  individual  to  descend.  They  aro  one  of  the  most  imposing 
works  I  have  seen  in  Russia,  and  might  suggest  models  to  the  con- 
structors of  the  sewers  at  Paris.  So  much  vastness  and  solidity 
reminds  one  of  the  descriptions  of. Rome.  They  were  built  by  the 
Emperor  Alexander,  who,  like  his  predecessors,  pretended  to 
conquer  nature  by  establishing  the  fair  on  a  soil  inundated  during 
one  half  of  the  year.  He  lavished  millions  in  remedying  the  in- 
conveniences of  the  injudicious  choice  made  when  the  fair  of 
Makarief  was  transported  to  Nijni. 

The  Oka,  which  separates  the  city  of  the  fair  from  the  perma- 
nent city,  is  here  more  than  four  times  the  breadth  of  the  Seine. 
Forty  thousand  men  sleep  every  night  upon  its  bosom,  making 
themselves  nests  in  boats,  which  form  a  kind  of  floating  camp. 
From  the  surface  of  the  aquatic  city  rises,  at  evening,  the  heavy 
murmur  of  voices  that  might  be  easily  taken  for  the  gurgling  of 
the  waves.  All  these  boats  have  masts,  and  form  a  river-forest, 
peopled  by  men  from  every  corner  of  the  earth :  their  faces  and 
their  costumes  are  equally  strange.  The  sight  has  struck  me 
more  than  any  other  in  the  immense  fair.  Rivers  thus  inhabited 
remind  one  of  the  descriptions  of  China. 

Some  of  the  peasants  in  this  part  of  Russia  wear  white  tunic 
shirts,  ornamented  with  red  borders ;  the  costume  is  borrowed 
from  the  Tartars.  At  night-time,  the  white  linen  gives  them  the 
appearance  of  spectres  moving  in  the  dark.  Yet,  notwithstanding 
its  many  singular  and  interesting  objects,  the  fair  of  Nijui  is  not 
picturesque :  it  is  a  formal  plan  rather  than  a  graceful  sketch. 
The  man  devoted  to  political  economy,  or  arithmetical  calcula- 
tions, has  more  business  here  than  the  poet  or  the  painter ;  the 
subjects  relate  to  the  commercial  balance  and  progress  of  the  two 
principal  quarters  of  the  world — nothing  more  and  nothing  less. 
From  one  end  of  Russia  to  the  other  I  perceive  a  minute,  Dutch- 
taught  government,  hypocritically  carrying  on  war  against  the 
primitive  faculties  of  an  ingenious,  lively,  poetical,  Oriental 
people,  a  people  born  for  the  arts. 

The  merchandise  of  every  part  of  the  world  is  collected  in 
the  immense  streets  of  the  fair  ;  but  it  is  also  lost  in  them.  The 
scarcest  objects  are  buyers.  I  have  seen  nothing  yet  in  this 


THE    CITY    OF    TEA.  403 

country  without  exclaiming,  "  The  people  are  too  few  for  the 
space  !  "  It  is  just  the  contrary  in  ancient  communities,  where  the 
land  is  insufficient  for  the  progress  of  civilisation.  The  French 
and  English  stalls  are  the  most  elegant ;  while  viewing  them,  the 
beholder  might  fancy  himself  at  Paris  or  at  London :  but  this 
Bond  Street  of  the  East,  this  Palais  Koyal  of  the  steppes,  does 
not  constitute  the  real  wealth  of  the  market  of  Nijni.  To  have 
a  just  idea  of  the  importance  of  the  fair,  it  is  necessary  to  recol- 
lect its  origin,  and  the  place  where  it  was  first  held.  Before 
flourishing  at  Makarief  it  was  established  at  Kazan.  The  two 
extremes  of  the  ancient  world,  western  Europe  and  China,  met 
in  that  old  capital  of  Kussian  Tartary  to  exchange  their  various 
products.  This  is  now  done  at  Nijni.  But  a  very  incomplete 
idea  of  a  market  for  the  commodities  of  two  continents  would  be 
formed,  if  the  spectator  did  not  leave  the  regular  stalls  and  ele- 
gant pavilions  which  adorn  the  modern  bazaar  of  Alexander,  and 
survey  some  of  the  different  camps  by  which  it  is  flanked.  The 
line  and  rule  do  not  follow  the  merchants  into  the  suburbs  of  the 
fair :  these  suburbs  are  like  the  farm-yard  of  a  chateau, — how- 
ever stately  and  orderly  the  principal  habitation,  the  disorder  of 
nature  reigns  in  its  dependencies. 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  traverse,  even  rapidly,  these  exterior 
d6pots,  for  they  are  themselves  each  as  large  as  cities.  A  con- 
tinual and  really  imposing  activity  pervades  them, — a  true  mer- 
cantile chaos,  which  it  is  necessary  to  see  in  order  to  believe. 

To  commence  with  the  city  of  tea :  It  is  an  Asiatic  camp, 
which  extends  on  the  banks  of  the  two  rivers  to  the  point  of  land 
where  they  meet.  The  tea  comes  from  China  by  Kiatka,  which 
is  in  the  back  part  of  Asia.  At  this  first  depot,  it  is  exchanged 
for  merchandise,  and  from  thence  transported  in  packages,  which 
resemble  small  chests  in  the  shape  of  dice,  about  two  feet  square. 
These  packages  are  frames,  covered  with  skins ;  the  buyers 
thrust  into  them  a  kind  of  probe,  by  withdrawing  which  they  as- 
certain the  quality  of  the  article.  From  Kiatka  the  tea  travels 
by  land  to  Tomsk ;  it  is  there  placed  in  boats,  and  sails  along 
several  rivers,  of  which  the  Irtish  and  the  Tobol  are  the  princi- 
pal, till  it  arrives  at  Tourmine,  from  whence  it  is  again  transported 
by  land  to  Perm,  in  Siberia,  where  it  is  re-shipped  on  the  Kama, 
which  carries  it  into  the  Volga,  and  up  that  river  it  ascends  to 
Nijni.  Russia  receives  yearly  75,000  to  80,000  chests  of  tea, 
one  half  of  which  remains  in  Siberia,  to  be  transported  to  Mos- 
cow during  the  winter  by  sledges,  and  the  other  half  arrives  at 
this  fair. 


404  THE    CITY    OF    IRON. 

The  principal  tea-merchant  in  Kussia  is  the  individual  who 
wrote  for  me  the  above  itinerary.  I  do  not  answer  for  either  the 
orthography  or  the  geography  of  that  opulent  man ;  but  a  mil- 
lionnaire  is  generally  correct,  for  he  buys  the  science  of  others. 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  famous  tea  of  the  caravans,  so  deli- 
cate, as  is  said,  because  it  comes  over-land,  travels  nearly  all  the 
way  by  water :  to  be  sure,  it  is  fresh  water ;  and  the  mists  of 
rivers  do  not  produce  such  effects  as  the  ocean  fogs. 

Forty  thousand  chests  of  tea  is  an  amount  easily  named;  but 
the  reader  can  have  no  idea  of  the  time  it  takes  to  survey  them, 
though  it  be  only  by  passing  before  the  piles  of  boxes.  This 
year,  thirty- five  thousand  were  sold  in  three  days.  A  single  in- 
dividual, my  geographical  merchant,  took  fourteen  thousand, 
which  cost  him  ten  millions  silver  rubles  (paper  rubles  are  not 
current  here),  a  part  payable  down,  the  rest  in  one  year. 

It  is  the  rate  of  tea  which  fixes  the  price  of  all  the  commodi- 
ties of  the  fair :  before  this  rate  is  published,  the  other  bargains 
are  only  made  conditionally. 

There  is  another  city  as  large,  but  less  elegant  and  less  per- 
fumed than  the  city  of  tea — that,  namely,  of  rags.  Fortunately, 
before  bringing  the  tatters  of  all  Russia  to  the  fair,  those  into 
whose  hands  they  have  fallen,  cause  them  to  be  washed.  This 
commodity,  necessary  to  the  manufacture  of  paper,  has  become 
so  precious,  that  the  Russian  custom-house  forbids  its  exporta- 
tion with  extreme  severity. 

Another  town  which  attracted  my  attention  among  the  sub- 
urbs, was  that  of  barked  timber.  Like  the  faubourgs  of  Vienna, 
these  secondary  cities  are  larger  than  the  principal.  The  one  of 
which  I  speak  serves  as  a  magazine  for  the  wood,  brought  from 
Siberia,  destined  to  form  the  wheels  of  the  Russian  carts,  and 
the  collars  of  the  horses — these  semi-circles  formed  of  a  single 
piece  of  bended  wood,  which  are  seen  fixed  in  so  picturesque  a 
manner,  at  the  extremities  of  the  shafts,  and  which  rise  above 
the  heads  of  all  the  shaft-horses  in  the  empire.  The  store  neces- 
sary to  furnish  these  wheels  and  collars  to  Western  Russia  forms 
here  mountains  of  wood,  of  which  our  timber-yards  at  Paris  can- 
not give  even  an  idea. 

Another  city,  and  it  is,  I  believe,  the  most  extensive  and 
curious  of  all,  serves  as  a  depot  for  the  iron  of  Siberia.  I  walked 
for  a  quarter  of  a  league  under  galleries,  in  which  are  to  be  found, 
aristically  arranged,  every  known  species  of  iron  bar,  grating,  and 
wrought  iron ;  pyramids  built  of  the  utensils  of  husbandry  and 
house-keeping,  magazines  full  of  vessels  of  cast  iron ;  in  short,  a 


THE    CITY    OF    FURS.  405 

city  of  the  metal  which  forms  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  the 
wealth  of  the  empire.  The  sight  of  such  wealth  made  me  shud- 
der. How  many  criminals  must  it  not  have  required  to  dig  up 
these  treasures  ?  and  if  there  are  not  criminals  enough  in  that 
subterranean  world  which  produces  iron,  their  number  is  made 
up  by  the  unfortunate  victims  of  despotism.  The  system  which 
regulates  the  miners  of  the  Oural  would  be  a  curious  subject  of 
inquiry,  if  it  were  permitted,  to  foreigners.  But  the  means  of 
pursuing  this  study  would  be  as  difficult  for  an  European  from 
the  West,  as  the  journey  to  Mecca  is  for  a  Christian. 

All  these  towns  form  only  chapels-of-ease  to  the  principal  fair, 
round  which,  as  a  common  centre,  they  extend  without  any  plan 
or  order.  Their  outer,  or  general  circumference,  would  equal 
that  of  the  larger  European  capitals.  A  day  would  not  afibrd 
sufficient  time  to  pass  through  all  the  temporary  suburbs.  Amid 
such  an  abyss  of  riches  it  is  impossible  to  see  every  thing ;  the 
spectator  is  obliged  to  select. 

I  must  abridge  my  descriptions.  In  Russia  we  resign  our- 
selves to  monotony ;  it  is  a  condition  of  existence  :  but  in  France, 
where  I  shall  be  read,  I  have  no  right  to  expect  the  reader  to 
submit  to  it  with  the  same  good  grace  that  I  do  here.  He  has 
not  the  same  obligation  to  be  patient  as  he  would  have  if  he  had 
travelled  a  thousand  leagues  to  learn  the  practice  of  that  virtue 
of  the  vanquished. 

I  forgot  to  notice  a  city  of  Cashmere  wool.  In  seeing  this 
vile  dusty  hair,  bound  in  enormous  bales,  I  thought  of  the  beau- 
tiful shoulders  that  it  would  one  day  cover ;  the  splendid  attires 
that,  when  transformed  into  shawls,  it  would  complete. 

I  saw  also  a  city  of  furs,  and  another  of  potash.  I  use  this 
word  city  purposely ;  it  alone  can  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  of 
the  various  depots  which  surround  the  fair,  and  which  invest 
it  with  a  character  of  grandeur  that  no  other  fair  will  ever 
possess. 

Such  a  commercial  phenomenon  could  only  be  produced  in 
Russia.  To  create  a  fair  like  Nijni  requires  that  there  should  be 
an  extreme  desire  for  luxuries  among  tribes  still  half  barbarous, 
living  in  countries  separated  by  incommensurable  distances,  with- 
out prompt  or  easy  means  of  communication,  and  where  the  in- 
clemency of  the  seasons  isolates  the  population  during  a  great 
part  of  the  year.  The  combination  of  these,  and  doubtless  many 
other  circumstances  which  I  do  not  discern,  could  alone  induce 
commercial  people  to  submit  to  the  difficulties,  expenses,  and  per- 
sonal fatigues  of  annually  resorting,  and  bringing  all  the  riches  of 


400  THE    CITY    OF    WOOL. 

the  soil  and  of  industry  to  one  single  point  of  the  country,  at  a 
fixed  season.  The  time  may  be  predicted,  and  I  think  it  is  not 
far  distant,  when  the  progress  of  material  civilisation  in  Russia 
will  greatly  diminish  the  importance  of  the  fair  of  Nijni,  at  pre- 
sent, as  I  have  already  said,  the  largest  in  the  world. 

In  a  suburb,  separated  by  an  arm  of  the  Oka,  is  a  Persian 
village,  the  shops  of  which  are  filled  exclusively  with  Persian 
merchandise.  Among  these  objects,  I  more  particularly  admired 
the  carpets,  which  appeared  magnificent,  the  raw  silk,  and  the  ter- 
molama,  a  species  of  silk-cashmere,  manufactured,  they  say,  only 
in  Persia. 

The  forms  and  dress  of  the  Persians  do  not  greatly  strike  in 
this  country,  where  the  indigenous  population  is  itself  Asiatic, 
and  preserves  traces  of  its  origin. 

I  also  traversed  a  city  destined  solely  as  a  receptacle  for  the 
dried  and  salted  fish,  which  are  sent  from  the  Caspian  Sea  for  the 
Russian  Lents.*  The  Greek  devotees  are  great  consumers  of 
these  aquatic  mummies.  Four  months  of  abstinence  among  the 
Muscovites  enriches  the  Mohammedans  of  Persia  and  Tartary. 
This  city  of  fishes  is  situated  on  the  borders  of  the  river ;  some 
of  the  fish  are  piled  upon  earth,  the  remainder  lay  within  the 
holds  of  the  vessels  that  brought  them.  The  dead  bodies,  heaped 
together  in  millions,  exhale,  even  in  the  open  air,  a  disagreeable 
perfume.  Another  division  forms  the  city  of  leather ;  an  article 
of  the  first  importance  at  Nijni;  as  enough  is  brought  there  to 
supply  the  consumption  of  all  the  West  of  Russia. 

Another  is  the  city  of  furs.  The  skins  of  every  animal  may 
be  seen  there,  from  the  sable,  the  blue  fox,  and  certain  bear  skins, 
— to  obtain  a  pelisse  of  which  costs  twelve  thousand  francs, — to 
the  common  foxes  and  wolves,  which  cost  nothing.  The  keepers 
of  the  treasures  make  themselves  tents  for  the  night  with  their 
merchandise,  savage  lairs,  the  aspect  of  which  is  picturesque. 
These  men,  although  they  inhabit  cold  countries,  live  on  little, 
clothe  lightly,  and  sleep  in  the  open  air  in  fine  weather.  They 
are  the  true  lazzaroni  of  the  North,  though  less  gay,  witty,  or 
buffoonish,  and  more  dirty  than  those  of  Naples ;  because,  to  the 
uncleanliness  of  their  persons  is  added  that  of  their  garments, 
which  they  never  take  off. 

What  I  have  already  written  will  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the 
exterior  of  the  fair  :  the  interior,  I  repeat,  is  much  less  interesting. 
Without,  are  cars  and  trucks  moving  amid  a  crowd  where  reign 

*  There  are  four  Lents  in  the  Greek  church. — Trans. 


BADLY    CHOSEN    SITE.  407 

disorder,  cries,  songs,  and  in  short,  liberty :  within,  are  regularity, 
silence,  solitude,  order,  the  police,  and  in  one  word  Russia !  Im- 
mense files  of  houses,  or  rather  stalls,  separate  about  a  dozen  long 
and  broad  streets,  which  terminate  in  a  Russian  church  and  in 
twelve  Chinese  pavilions.  The  united  length  of  all  the  streets 
and  alleys  of  the  fair,  properly  so  called,  and  without  speaking  of 
the  faubourgs,  is  ten  leagues. 

The  Emperor  Alexander,  after  having  selected  the  new  ground 
for  the  fair,  ordered  the  necessary  work  for  its  establishment,  but 
he  never  saw  it.  He  was  ignorant  of  the  immense  sums  that  had 
to  be  added  to  his  budget,  to  make  this  low  land  fitted  to  the  use 
for  which  it  was  destined.  By  means  of  amazing  efforts  and 
enormous  expenditure,  the  fair  is  now  habitable  during  summer, 
which  is  all  that  is  required  for  commerce.  But  it  is  not  the  less 
badly  situated  :  being  rendered  dusty  or  miry  by  the  first  ray  of 
sun  or  smallest  rain,  and  remaining  unhealthy  at  all  times ;  which 
is  no  small  evil  for  the  merchants,  obliged  to  sleep  above  their 
magazines  for  the  space  of  six  weeks. 

Notwithstanding  the  taste  of  the  Russians  for  straight  lines, 
many  think  with  me  that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have  placed 
the  fair  by  the  side  of  the  old  city,  on  the  crest  of  the  mountain, 
the  summit  of  which  might  have  been  rendered  accessible  by 
gentle,  terraced  slopes.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill,  on  the  borders  of 
the  Oka,  the  objects  too  heavy  and  bulky  to  be  carried  up, 
might  have  still  remained  by  the  side  of  their  vessels,  while  the 
livelier  retail  fair  would  have  been  held  on  a  spacious  platform 
at  the  gate  of  the  lofty  city.  Imagine  a  hill  crowded  with  the 
representatives  of  all  the  Asiatic  and  European  nations.  Such 
a  peopled  mountain  would  have  produced  a  grand  effect :  the 
marsh,  where  the  travelling  population  now  swarms,  produces 
very  little. 

The  modern  engineers,  so  skilful  in  all  lands,  would  then 
have  had  whereon  to  exercise  their  talents  ;  the  poets,  the  paint- 
ers, and  admirers  of  noble  sites  and  picturesque  effects,  the  sight- 
seers, who  are  become  quite  a  nation  in  this  century,  in  which  the 
abuses  of  activity  produce  fanatics  in  idleness, — all  these  men 
useful  through  the  money  which  they  expend,  would  have  enjoyed 
a  magnificent  promenade,  far  more  attractive  than  that  afforded 
them  in  a  bazaar  where  no  point  of  view  can  be  gained,  and  where 
the  air  breathed  is  mephitic  ;  while  it  merits  consideration,  that 
such  a  result  would  have  been  obtained  at  much  less  expenditure 
of  money  than  it  has  cost  the  Emperor  to  establish  his  aquatic 
fair. 


408  BAD    FAITH    OF    THE    NOBLES. 

The  Russian  peasants  are  the  principal  commercial  agents  in 
this  prodigious  market.  Nevertheless,  the  law  forbids  the  serf 
to  ask,  or  the  freemen  to  grant  him,  a  credit  of  more  than  five 
rubles.  And  yet  they  deal  with  some  of  these  people,  on  the 
strength  of  their  word  only,  for  from  two  hundred  thousand  to 
five  hundred  thousand  francs  ;  and  the  dates  for  payment  are 
very  distant.  These  slavish  millionnaires,  the  Aguados  of  the  soil, 
do  not  know  how  to  read.  In  Russia,  it  is  requisite  that  the  men 
should  possess  great  natural,  to  supply  the  want  of  acquired  intel- 
ligence. The  people  are  very  ignorant  of  arithmetic.  For  cen- 
turies they  have  reckoned  their  accounts  by  frames,  containing 
series  of  movable  balls.  Every  line  has  its  colour ;  each  indi- 
cates units,  tens,  hundreds,  &c.  This  mode  of  calculation  is  sure 
and  rapid. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  lord  of  these  enormously 
wealthy  serfs  could  despoil  them  in  a  day  of  all  they  possess,  pro- 
vided he  did  not  injure  their  persons.  Such  acts  of  violence,  it 
is  true,  are  rare,  but  they  are  possible. 

No  one  remembers  that  any  merchant  ever  suffered  by  his 
confidence  in  the  peasants  with  whom  he  dealt :  so  true  it  is  that 
in  every  society,  if  only  it  be  stable,  the  progress  of  morals  cor- 
rects the  faults  of  institutions. 

I  have,  however,  been  told  that,  on  the  other  hand,  the  father 
of  a  Count  Tcheremitcheff,  who  is  now  living,  once  promised  lib- 
erty to  a  family  of  peasants,  in  consideration  of  the  exorbitant 
sum  of  50,000  rubles.  He  received  the  money,  and  retained 
among  his  serfs  the  despoiled  family. 

Such  is  the  school  of  good  faith  and  probity  in  which  the 
Russian  peasants  are  instructed,  under  the  aristocratic  despot- 
ism which  crushes  them,  in  spite  of  the  autocratic  despotism 
which  governs  them,  and  which  is  often  powerless  against  its 
rival.  Imperial  pride  contents  itself  with  words,  forms,  and 
numbers  ;  aristocratic  ambition  aims  at  things,  and  makes  a  profit 
of  words.  Never  did  a  master  receive  more  adulation  and  less 
obedience  than  the  deceived,  soi-disant  absolute  sovereign  of  the 
Russian  empire  :  disobedience  is  indeed  perilous  ;  but  the  coun- 
try is  vast,  and  solitude  is  dumb. 

The  governor  of  Nijni,  M.  Boutourline,  has  very  politely  in- 
vited me  to  dine  with  him  daily  during  my  stay  in  the  city  ;  to- 
morrow he  will  explain  to  me  how  conduct  similar  to  that  of  Count 
Tcheremitcheff,  rare  every  where  and  in  every  age,  cannot  be  now 
repeated  in  Russia.  I  will  give  the  summary  of  his  conversa- 
tion, if  I  can  make  any  thing  out  of  it ;  for  hitherto  I  have  gath- 


TURQUOISES    OF    THE    BUCHARIANS.  409 

ered  little  from  the  lips  of  the  Kussians  but  confused  language. 
Is  this  owing  to  the  want  of  logical  minds,  or  is  it  done  purpose- 
ly, with  the  view  of  perplexing  foreigners  ?  It  is,  I  believe,  at- 
tributable to  both  causes.  By  continually  endeavouring  to  hide 
truth  from  the  eyes  of  others,  people  become  at  last  unable  to 
perceive  it  themselves,  except  through  a  veil,  which  daily  thickens. 

Nothing  is  cheap  at  the  fair  at  Nijni,  except  articles  that  no 
one  cares  to  buy.  The  epoch  of  great  differences  in  price  in  dif- 
ferent localities  is  passed :  every  where  the  value  of  things  is 
known  :  the  Tartars  themselves,  who  come  from  the  centre  of 
Asia  to  Nijni  to  pay  very  dear  for  the  objects  of  luxury  supplied 
by  Paris  and  London,  bring,  in  exchange,  commodities  of  which 
they  perfectly  well  know  the  value.  The  merchants  may  still 
avail  themselves  of  the  situation  of  the  buyers  to  refuse  them 
articles  at  a  just  price  ;  but  they  cannot  deceive  them.  Yet  they 
do  not  abate  their  prices  ;  they  coolly  ask  too  much  ;  and  their 
probity  consists  in  never  departing  from  their  most  exaggerated 
demands. 

In  a  financial  point  of  view,  the  importance  of  the  fair  contin- 
ues to  increase  yearly  ;  but  the  interest  which  attaches  to  the 
singularity  a.nd  picturesque  appearance  of  the  assemblage  dimin- 
ishes. In  general,  the  fair  of  Nijni  would  disappoint  the  lover 
of  the  grotesque  and  the  amusing.  Every  thing  is  dull,  stiff,  and 
regular  in  Russia,  except,  at  least,  in  moments  when  the  long-re- 
pressed instinct  of  liberty  bursts  forth  in  an  explosion  :  then  the 
peasants  roast  their  lord,  or  the  lord  marries  his  slave ;  but  these 
rare  outbreaks  are  little  talked  of :  the  distances  and  the  meas- 
ures taken  by  the  police  prevent  isolated  facts  from  being  circu- 
lated among  the  mass. 

In  my  promenades  through  the  central  portion  of  the  fair,  I 
saw  the  Buchanans.  These  people  inhabit  a  corner  of  Thibet 
bordering  upon  China.  They  come  to  Nijni  to  sell  precious 
stones.  The  turquoises  that  I  bought  of  them  are  as  dear  as 
those  sold  in  Paris  ;  and  all  stones  of  any  value  are  equally  high 
in  price.  The  dealers  in  these  stones  pass  the  year  in  their  jour- 
ney, for  it  takes  them,  they  say,  more  than  eight  months  to  go 
and  come  only.  Neither  their  persons  nor  their  dress  struck  me 
as  very  remarkable.  I  scarcely  believe  in  the  genuineness  of  the 
Chinese  at  Nijni;  but  the  Tartars,  Persians,  Kirguises,  and  Cal- 
mucs  suffice  for  curiosity. 

The  two  last-named  barbarians  bring,  from  the  solitudes  of 
their  steppes,  herds  of  small  wild  horses  to  sell  at  the  fair. 
These  animals  have  many  good  qualities,  both  physical  and  mor- 
18 


410  KIRQUIS    HORSES. 

al ;  but  their  make  does  not  recommend  them.  They  are,  nev- 
ertheless, excellent  for  the  saddle  ;  and  their  disposition  causes 
them  to  be  valued.  Poor  creatures  !  they  have  better  hearts 
than  many  men  :  they  love  each  other  with  a  tenderness  and  a 
passion  that  prevents  them  from  ever  voluntarily  separating. 
So  long  as  they  remain  together,  they  forget  exile  and  slavery, 
and  seem  to  believe  themselves  in  their  own  country.  When 
one  is  sold,  he  has  to  be  cast,  and  forcibly  dragged  with  cords 
out  of  the  enclosure  where  his  brethren  are  confined,  who,  during 
this  violence,  never  cease  attempting  to  escape  or  rebel,  and  all 
the  while  neigh  most  piteously.  Never  have  I  seen  the  horses 
of  our  own  country  show  so  many  proofs  of  sensibility.  I  have 
seldom  been  more  affected  than  I  was  yesterday  by  the  sight  of 
these  unhappy  creatures,  torn  from  the  freedom  of  the  desert, 
and  violently  separated  from  those  they  love.  I  may  be  answered 
by  the  line  of  Gilbert : 

Un  papillon  souffrant  ltd  fait  verser  des  larmes. 

But  I  shall  not  care  for  being  laughed  at,  feeling  sure  that  if  the 
reader  had  seen  the  carrying-out  of  these  cruel  bargains,  he  would 
have  shared  my  feeling.  Crime,  when  recognised  as  such  by  the 
laws,  has  its  judges  in  this  world :  but  permitted  cruelty  is  only 
punished  by  the  pity  of  kindly  disposed  people  for  the  victims, 
and,  I  hope  also,  by  Divine  equity.  It  is  this  tolerated  barbarity 
which  makes  me  regret  the  narrow  limits  of  my  eloquence ;  a 
Rousseau  or  a  Sterne  would  know  how  to  make  the  reader  weep 
over  the  fate  of  these  poor  Kirguis  horses,  destined  to  carry,  in 
Europe,  men  as  much  slaves  as  themselves,  but  whose  condition 
does  not  always  deserve  as  great  pity  as  that  of  the  enslaved 
brute. 

Towards  evening  the  aspect  of  the  plain  became  imposing. 
The  horizon  was  lightly  veiled  in  mist,  which  afterwards  fell  in 
dew  on  the  dust  of  Nijni,  a  kind  of  fine  brown  sand,  the  reflection 
of  which  imparted  to  the  heavens  a  reddish  tint.  The  depths  of 
the  shade  were  pierced  by  the  fantastic  light  of  a  multitude  of 
lamps  in  the  bivouacs  by  which  the  fair  was  surrounded.  Every 
thing  had  a  voice  ; — from  the  distant  forest,  from  the  bosom  of 
the  inhabited  river,  a  murmur  brought  to  the  attentive  ear  the 
sounds  of  life.  What  an  imposing  gathering  together  of  man- 
kind !  what  different  languages  and  contrasting  habits  !  and  yet 
what  uniformity  of  sentiments  and  ideas  !  The  object  of  this 
great  meeting,  of  each  individual  it  comprised,  was  simply  to  gain 


EFFECT    OF    MUSIC    IN    RUSSIA.  411 

a  little  money.  Elsewhere  the  gaiety  of  the  people  conceals  their 
cupidity ;  here,  commerce  stands  naked,  and  the  sterile  rapacity 
of  the  merchant  predominates  over  the  frivolity  of  the  lounger  ; 
nothing  is  poetical ;  every  thing  is  mercenary.  I  am  wrong, — 
the  poetry  of  fear  and  of  sorrow  is  at  the  bottom  of  every  thing 
in  this  country  :  but  where  is  the  voice  that  dares  express  it  ? 
Nevertheless,  there  are  a  few  pictures  to  console  the  imagination 
and  to  refresh  the  eye. 

On  the  roads  which  connect  the  different  merchant-encamp- 
ments, may  be  seen  long  files  of  singular  vehicles,  being  pairs  of 
wheels  united  by  an  axle,  which,  when  attached  to  others,  so  as 
to  form  an  equipage  of  four  or  six  wheels,  had  served  to  carry  the 
beams  and  poles  used  in  the  construction  of  some  of  the  tempo- 
rary erections  of  the  fair.  They  return  thus  detached,  drawn  by 
one  horse,  guided  by  men  who  stand  upright  on  the  axle,  ba- 
lancing themselves  with  a  savage  grace,  and  managing  their  half 
broken  steeds  with  a  dexterity  I  have  seen  nowhere  but  in  Rus- 
sia. They  remind  me  of  the  charioteers  of  the  Byzantian  circus  ; 
their  shirts  form  a  Greek  tunic  that  is  truly  antique.  As  the 
Russian  female  peasants  are  the  only  women  on  earth  who  make 
themselves  a  waist  above  the  bosom,  so  are  their  male  relatives 
the  only  men  I  have  ever  seen  who  wear  their  shirts  over  their 
pantaloons. 

In  wandering  at  night  about  the  fair,  I  was  struck  with  the 
brilliancy  of  the  eating-booths,  the  little  theatres,  the  taverns, 
and  the  coffee-houses.  But  from  the  midst  of  so  much  light  there 
rose  no  sound,  save  a  dull  suppressed  murmur  ;  and  the  contrast 
formed  by  the  illumination  of  the  place  and  the  taciturnity  of  the 
people,  gave  the  idea  of  magic.  I  could  have  believed  the  human 
beings  had  been  touched  by  the  wand  of  an  enchanter.  The  men 
of  Asia  continue  grave  and  serious,  even  in  their  diversions  :  and 
the  Russians  are  Asiatics,  drilled,  but  not  civilised. 

I  am  never  tired  of  hearing  their  popular  songs.  The  value 
of  music  is  doubled  in  a  place  where  a  hundred  different  commu- 
nities are  drawn  together  by  their  common  interests,  though  di- 
vided by  their  language  and  religion.  When  speech  serves  only 
to  separate  men,  they  sing  to  understand  each  other.  Music  is 
the  antidote  of  sophistry ;  whence  the  ever-increasing  vogue  of 
this  art  in  Europe.  There  is,  in  the  pieces  executed  by  the  Mou- 
jiks  of  the  Volga,  an  extraordinary  complexity,  evolving  effects 
of  harmony  which,  notwithstanding,  or  perhaps  owing  to  their 
rudeness,  we  should  call  scientific  in  a  church  or  a  theatre.  These 
melodies  are  not  sweetly  inspired  ;  but,  at  a  distance,  the  mime- 


412  FINANCIAL    PHENOMENON. 

rous  voices  counteracting  each  other  in  choruses  remarkable  for 
the  mournfulness  of  the  accords,  produce  a  novel  and  profound 
impression  upon  us  Western  people.  The  plaintive  sadness  of 
the  sounds  is  not  diminished  by  the  decorations  of  the  scene.  A 
thick  forest  of  masts  bounds  the  view  on  two  sides ;  on  the  other, 
a  solitary  plain,  lost  in  a  forest  of  firs :  by  degrees,  the  lights 
are  seen  to  diminish  ;  at  length,  they  become  extinguished ;  the 
obscurity  heightens  the  effect  of  the  eternal  silence  of  these  pale 
regions,  and  spreads  in  the  soul  a  new  surprise ;  night  is  the 
mother  of  astonishment.  All  the  scenes  that  a  short  time  before 
animated  the  desert  are  effaced;  vague  recollections  succeed  to 
the  movements  of  life ;  and  the  traveller  finds  himself  alone  with 
the  Russian  police,  who  render  the  darkness  doubly  fearful :  he 
believes  himself  in  a  dream,  and  regains  his  lodging,  his  mind 
full  of  poetry,  that  is,  of  vague  fears,  and  of  mournful  presenti- 
ments. It  is  impossible  for  a  moment  to  forget,  while  travelling 
over  Russia,  that  the  people  are  Orientals,  who,  in  their  former 
migrations,  lost  their  road,  and  whose  chiefs,  by  mistake,  led 
towards  the  North,  a  people  born  to  live  in  the  sun. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

Financial  Phenomenon.— Financial  Reform  of  the  Emperor's. — Means  taken  by  the  Governor 
of  Nijni  to  induce  the  Merchants  to  Obey.— Their  nominal  Compliance. — Inquiry  into 
their  Motives.— Improvements  of  Nijni. — The  Serf  and  the  Lord.— The  Governor  of  Nijni'a 
Explanations  of  Despotic  Administration  —Forbearance  of  the  Authorities.— A  Ride  with 
the  Governor.— Value  of  the  Commodities  at  the  Fair  of  Nijni. — Visits  with  the  Governor. 
— The  Bureaucracy  —The  Author's  Feldjas;er.— Flag  of  Minine.— Bad  Faith  of  the  Gov- 
ernment.—Modern  Vandalism.— Peter  the  Great.— The  Kremlin  of  Nijni  — The  Governor's 
Camp.— Sang  of  the  Soldiers.— Church  of  the  Strogonoffs. — Russian  Vaudeville. 

THIS  year,  immediately  before  opening  the  fair,  the  governor 
called  around  him  the  ablest  commercial  heads  in  Russia,  then 
assembled  together  at  Nijni,  and  laid  before  them,  in  detail,  the 
long-ago-acknowledged  and  deplored  inconveniences  of  the  mo- 
netary system  of  the  empire. 

The  reader  is  aware  that  there  are  in  Russia  two  representa- 
tive signs  of  commodities — paper  and  silver  money ;  but  he,  per- 
haps, does  not  know  that  the  latter,  by  a  singularity  that  is  unique, 
I  believe,  in  financial  history,  is  constantly  varying  in  value, 
whilst  the  worth  of  the  former  remains  fixed.  Nothing  but  a 
profound  study  of  the  political  economy  of  the  country  could 


FINANCIAL   REFORM    OF   THE   EMPEROR^S.  413 

explain  another  very  extraordinary  fact  resulting  from  this 
singularity,  namely,  that  in  Russia,  the  specie  represents  the 
paper,  although  the  latter  was  only  instituted,  and  only  legally 
exists  to  represent  the  former. 

Having  explained  this  anomaly  to  his  auditors,  and  expa- 
tiated on  all  the  mischievous  consequences  arising  therefrom,  the 
governor  added  that  the  Emperor,  in  his  constant  solicitude  for 
his  people  and  for  the  order  of  his  empire,  had  at  length  deter- 
mined to  put  an  end  to  a  disorder,  the  progress  of  which  threat- 
ened seriously  to  cripple  the  internal  commerce  of  the  land.  The 
only  remedy  recognized  as  efficient  is  the  definite  and  irrevocable 
fixing  of  the  value  of  the  coined  ruble.  The  edict  of  the  Empe- 
ror accomplished  this  revolution  in  one  day,  as  far  at  least  as 
words  could  do  it;  but  in  order  to  realize  the  reform,  the  gover- 
nor concluded  his  harangue  by  announcing  that  it  was  His  Ma- 
jesty's will  that  the  ukase  should  be  immediately  put  in  execu- 
tion ;  and  he  added  that  the  superior  agents  of  the  administration, 
and  he,  the  governor  of  Nijni,  in  particular,  hoped  that  no  con- 
sideration of  personal  interest  would  prevail  against  the  duty  of 
obeying,  without  delay,  the  supreme  will  of  the  empire's  head. 

The  honest  men  consulted  on  this  serious  question,  replied 
that  the  measure,  though  good  in  itself,  would  destroy  the  most 
secure  commercial  fortunes  if  it  were  applied  to  transactions  and 
bargains  already  made,  and  the  terms  of  which  would  have  to  be 
fulfilled  during  the  actual  fair.  While  continuing  to  laud  and 
admire  the  profound  wisdom  of  the  Emperor,  they  humbly  re- 
presented to  the  governor  that  those  among  the  merchants  who 
had  effected  sales  of  goods  at  a  price  fixed  according  to  the  an- 
cient rate  of  money,  which  they  had  done,  acting  in  dependence 
upon  the  relations  between  the  paper  and  the  silver  ruble  being 
continued  as  they  were  at  the  last  fair,  would  be  exposed  to  the 
necessity  of  submitting  to  payments  that  would  not  be  the  less 
fraudulent  because  authorised  by  the  law,  since  they  would  rob 
them  of  their  just  profits;  and  might  indeed  ruin  them  if  the 
present  edict  were  thus  allowed  a  retroactive  effect ;  the  conse- 
quences of  which  would  be  a  multitude  of  small  bankruptcies, 
that  would  not  fail  finally  to  draw  in  the  others. 

The  governor  replied  with  the  gentleness  and  calmness  which 
presides  in  Russia  throughout  all  administrative,  financial,  and 
political  discussions,  that  he  perfectly  entered  into  the  views  of 
the  chief  merchants  interested  in  the  business  of  the  fair  ;  but 
that  after  all,  the  mischievous  results  dreaded  by  these  gentlemen 
only  threatened  a  few  individuals,  who  would  have,  as  a  guarantee, 


414  MEANS  TAKEN  TO  ENFORCE  IT. 

the  severity  of  the  existing  laws  against  bankrupts,  whereas,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  delay  would  always  look  something  like  resist- 
ance ;  and  that  such  example,  given  by  the  most  important  com- 
mercial place  in  the  empire,  would  involve  inconveniences  far 
more  injurious  to  the  country  than  a  few  failures,  affecting  only 
a  small  number  of  individuals :  for  disobedience,  approved  and 
justified  by  men  who  had  hitherto  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the 
government,  would  be  an  attack  aimed  at  the  dignity  of  the 
sovereign,  at  the  administrative  and  financial  unity  of  Russia,  or, 
in  other  words,  at  the  vital  principles  of  the  empire :  he  added, 
that,  under  these  peremptory  considerations,  he  did  not  doubt  the 
gentlemen  addressed  would,  by  their  compliance,  hasten  to  avoid 
the  monstrous  reproach  of  sacrificing  the  good  of  the  state  to 
their  personal  interests. 

The  result  of  this  pacific  conference  was  that,  on  the  morrow, 
the  fair  opened  under  the  retro-active  system  of  the  new  ukase, 
the  solemn  publication  of  which  was  made  after  the  assent  and 
the  promises  of  the  first-  merchants  in  the  empire  had  been  thus 
obtained. 

This  was  related  to  me  by  the  governor  himself,  with  the  in- 
tention of  proving  to  me  the  gentleness  with  which  the  machine 
of  despotic  government  works — that  machine  so  calumniated  by 
people  governed  under  liberal  institutions. 

I  took  the  liberty  of  asking  my  obliging  and  interesting  pre- 
ceptor in  Oriental  politics,  what  had  been  the  result  of  the  gov- 
ernment measure,  and  of  the  hasty  manner  in  which  it  was 
judged  right  to  put  it  in  execution. 

"  The  result  has  exceeded  my  hopes,"  replied  the  governor, 
with  a  satisfied  air.  "  Not  one  bankrupt !  .  .  .  All  the  new  bar- 
gains have  been  concluded  under  the  new  monetary  system ;  but 
what  will  surprise  you  is  the  fact,  that  no  debtor  has  availed 
himself,  in  paying  his  old  engagements,  of  the  power  which  the 
law  gave  him  of  defrauding  his  creditors." 

I  confess  that  at  the  first  view  this  result  appeared  to  me  as- 
tounding ;  but,  on  reflection,  I  recognised  the  astuteness  of  the 
Russians :  the  law  being  published,  it  was  obeyed — on  paper ; 
and  that  is  enough  for  the  government.  It  is  easily  satisfied,  I 
admit;  for  what  it  principally  requires,  at  whatever  cost,  is 
silence.  The  political  state  of  Russia  may  be  defined  in  one  sen- 
tence :  it  is  a  country  in  which  the  government  says  what  it 
pleases,  because  it  alone  has  the  right  to  speak.  Thus,  in  the 
case  before  us,  the  government  says — Such  is  the  law — obey  it ; 
but,  nevertheless,  the  mutual  accord  of  interested  parties  annuls 


INQUIRY   INTO    THEIR   MOTIVES.  415 

the  action  of  this  law  in  that  iniquitous  portion  of  it  which  could 
be  applied  to  old  debts.  In  a  country  where  the  governing  power 
is  patient,  it  would  not  have  exposed  the  honest  man  to  the 
danger  of  being  deprived  of  his  due  by  thieves  :  in  justice,  the 
law  can  only  regulate  the  future.  And,  indeed,  theory  apart, 
such  is  the  result  here ;  but  to  obtain  it,  it  was  necessary  that 
the  sense  and  good  management  of  the  subjects  should  be  opposed 
to  the  blind  impetuosity  of  the  authorities,  in  order  to  escape  the 
evils  which  would  otherwise  have  been  entailed  on  the  country 
by  these  freaks  of  supreme  power. 

There  exists  under  all  governments  built  on  exaggerated  the- 
ories, a  concealed  action,  a  de-facto  influence,  which  nearly  al- 
ways opposes  the  extravagant  doctrine  adopted.  The  Russians 
possess,  in  a  high  degree,  the  spirit  of  commerce,  which  will  ex- 
plain how  it  was  that  the  merchants  of  the  fair  perceived  that  the 
real  tradesman  thrives  only  by  acting,  and  by  being  able  to  act, 
in  confidence, — every  sacrifice  of  credit  is  a  loss  to  him  of  cent. 
per  cent.  Nor  was  this  all ;  another  influence  checked  bad  faith, 
and  made  blind  cupidity  silent.  The  temptation  that  might  have 
been  felt  by  the  insolvent  would  be  repressed  purely  by  fear — 
that  real  sovereign  of  Russia.  On  this  occasion,  the  evil-inten- 
tioned  will  have  thought  that  if  they  exposed  themselves  to  any 
process,  or  even  to  too  notorious  animadversion,  the  judges  or  the 
police  would  turn  against  them  ;  and  that,  in  such  case,  what  is 
here  called  law  would  be  applied  with  rigour.  They  have 
dreaded  incarceration,  the  blows  of  the  rod  in  the  prison,  or,  per- 
haps, something  worse  !  Under  these  motives,  operating  with 
double  influence  in  the  universal  silence  that  forms  the  normal 
state  of  Russia,  they  have  given  this  good  example  of  commercial 
probity  with  which  the  governor  of  Nijni  took  pleasure  in  dazzling 
me.  If  I  was  dazzled,  it  was  only  for  an  instant :  for  I  was  not 
long  in  recognizing  that  if  the  Russian  merchants  forebore  to  ruin 
each  other,  their  reciprocal  moderation  had  precisely  the  same 
source  as  that  of  the  boatmen  of  Lake  Ladoga  and  the  coachmen 
and  porters  of  Petersburg,  who  control  their  angry  passions,  not 
through  motives  of  humanity,  but  under  the  dread  of  the  superior 
authority  interfering  in  their  affairs.  As  I  remained  silent,  I 
could  see  that  M.  Boutourline  enjoyed  my  surprise. 

"  No  one  knows  the  superiority  of  the  Emperor,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  unless  they  have  seen  this  prince  engaged  in  public 
business,  especially  at  Nijni,  where  he  performs  prodigies." 

I  answered  that  I  greatly  admired  the  sagacity  of  the  Em- 
peror. 


416  IMPERIAL    LEGERDEMAIN. 

"  When  we  visit  together  the  works  directed  by  His  Ma- 
jesty," replied  the  governor, il  you  will  yet  more  admire  him. 
You  will  see  that,  owing  to  the  energy  of  his  character  and  the 
justness  of  his  views,  the  monetary  revolution,  which  would  else- 
where have  required  infinite  precaution,  works  among  us  as  if  by 
enchantment." 

The  courtier-like  governor  had  the  modesty  to  forbear  adding 
a  word  in  favour  of  his  own  good  management ;  he  equally  avoided 
giving  me  any  occasion  to  allude  to  what  evil  tongues  are  continu- 
ally repeating  to  me  in  secret,  namely,  that  every  financial  measure 
of  the  kind  just  taken  by  the  Russian  government,  gives  to  the 
superior  authority  means  of  profit,  which  it  well  knows  how  to 
use,  but  of  which  no  one  dares  openly  to  complain  under  autocratic 
rule.  I  am  ignorant  of  the  secret  manoeuvres  to  which  recourse 
has  been  had  on  this  occasion  ;  but  to  give  myself  an  idea  of  them, 
I  imagine  the  situation  of  a  man  who  has  deposited  with  another 
a  considerable  sum  of  money.  If  the  receiver  has  the  power  to 
triple  the  value  of  each  piece  of  coin  of  which  the  sum  is  com- 
posed, it  is  clear  that  he  can  return  the  deposit,  and  all  the  while 
retain  two  thirds  of  the  amount  deposited.  I  do  not  say  that  such 
has  been  the  actual  result  of  the  measure  ordained  by  the  Em- 
peror, but  I  admit  the  supposition,  among  many  others,  to  aid  me 
in  comprehending  the  insinuations,  or,  if  you  like,  the  calumnies 
of  the  malcontents.  They,  indeed,  add  that  the  profit  of  this  so 
suddenly  executed  operation,  which  consists  in  depriving,  by  a 
decree,  the  paper-money  of  a  part  of  its  ancient  value,  to  increase 
in  the  same  proportion  that  of  the  silver  ruble,  is  designed  to 
compensate  the  private  treasury  of  the  sovereign  for  the  sums 
which  it  was  necessary  to  draw  from  it.  in  order  to  rebuild,  at  his 
own  cost,  his  Winter  Palace,  and  to  refuse,  with  a  magnanimity 
which  Europe  and  Russia  have  admired,  the  offers  of  towns  and 
of  many  private  individuals,  great  merchants  and  others,  emulous 
of  contributing  to  the  re-construction  of  a  national  edifice  which 
serves  as  a  habitation  for  the  head  of  the  empire. 

The  reader  may  judge,  by  the  detail  which  I  have  deemed  it 
my  duty  to  give  of  this  tyrannical  charlatanism,  of  the  value  here 
attached  to  words,  and  of  the  real  worth  of  the  noblest  sentiments 
and  the  finest  phrases.  He  may  judge  also  of  the  constraint  im- 
posed upon  generous  minds  and  independent  spirits  obliged  to 
live  under  such  a  system  in  which  peace  and  order  are  purchased 
by  the  sacrifice  of  truth — that  most  sacred  of  all  the  gifts  of 
heaven  to  man.  In  other  communities,  it  is  the  people  who  apply 
the  whip,  and  the  government  which  puts  on  the  drag ;  here,  it 


THE  SERF  AND  THE  LORD.  417 

is  the  government  which  urges  onward,  and  the  people  who  hold 
back ;  for  if  the  political  machine  is  to  keep  together  at  all,  it  is 
essential  that  the  spirit  of  conservatism  should  exist  in  some 
part  of  it.  The  displacement  of  ideas  which  I  here  note  is  a 
political  phenomenon,  which  I  have  never  seen  except  in  Russia. 
Under  an  absolute  despotism,  it  is  the  government  which  is 
revolutionary ;  for  the  word  revolution  signifies  arbitrary  system 
and  violent  power. 

The  governor  has  kept  his  promise.  He  has  taken  me  to  see 
and  minutely  examine  the  works  ordered  by  the  Emperor,  with  a 
view  of  making  Nijni  all  that  it  is  capable  of  being  made,  and 
of  repairing  the  errors  of  the  founders.  A  superb  road  rises  from 
the  banks  of  the  Oka  to  the  high  city,  the  precipices  are  filled  up, 
the  terraces  are  laid  out,  magnificent  openings  are  cut  even  in  the 
bosom  of  the  mountain,  where  enormous  substructures  support 
squares,  streets  and  edifices ;  bridges  are  constructed ;  and  all 
these  works,  worthy  of  a  great  commercial  city,  will  soon  change 
Nijni  into  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in  the  empire.  As  His  Ma- 
jesty has  taken  it  under  his  special  protection,  each  time  that  any 
small  difficulty  rises  as  to  the  mode  of  carrying  on  the  works  com- 
menced, or  whenever  the  face  of  an  old  house  is  to  be  repaired,  or 
a  new  one  to  be  built,  the  governor  is  instructed  to  cause  a  special 
plan  to  be  made,  and  to  submit  the  question  of  its  adoption  to 
the  Emperor.  What  a  man  !  exclaim  the  Russians  ....  What 
a  country  !  I  should  exclaim,  if  I  dared  to  speak. 

While  on  the  road,  M.  Boutourline,  whose  obliging  civility 
and  hospitality  I  cannot  sufficiently  acknowledge,  gave  me  some 
interesting  explanations  of  the  Russian  system  of  administration, 
and  of  the  improvement  which  the  progress  of  manners  is  daily 
effecticg  in  the  condition  of  the  peasants. 

A  serf  may  now  become  the  proprietor  even  of  lands,  in  the 
name  of  his  lord,  without  the  latter  daring  to  violate  the  moral 
guarantee  by  which  he  is  bound  to  his  wealthy  slave.  To  despoil 
this  man  of  the  fruit  of  his  labour  and  industry  would  be  an 
abuse  of  power  which  the  most  tyrannical  boyar  dare  not  permit 
himself  under  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Nicholas:  but  who  shall 
assure  me  that  he  dare  not  do  so  under  another  sovereign?  Who 
shall  assure  me  even,  that  in  spite  of  the  return  to  equity  which 
forms  the  glorious  characteristic  of  the  present  reign,  there  may 
yet  be  no  avaricious  and  needy  lords,  who,  without  openly  robbing 
their  vassals,  know  how  skilfully,  and  by  turns,  to  employ  threats 
and  kindness,  in  order  gradually  to  extract  from  the  hands  of  the 
slave  a  portion  of  the  wealth  which  they  dare  not  carry  away  at 
18* 


418  DESPOTIC    ADMINISTRATION. 

one  swoop  ?  It  is  difficult  to  believe  in  the  duration  of  such  re- 
lations between  the  master  and  the  serf,  and  yet  the  institutions 
which  produce  this  social  singularity  are  stable. 

In  Russia,  nothing  is  defined  by  the  proper  words.  In  theory, 
every  thing  is  precisely  as  is  said ;  but  under  such  a  system,  if 
carried  out,  life  would  be  impossible :  in  practice,  there  are  so 
many  exceptions,  that  we  are  ready  to  say,  the  confusion  caused 
by  customs  and  usages  so  contradictory  must  make  all  govern- 
ment impossible. 

It  is  necessary  to  discover  the  solution  of  the  double  problem ; 
the  point,  that  is,  where  the  principle  and  the  application,  the 
theory  and  the  practice,  accord,  to  form  a  just  idea  of  the  state 
of  society  in  Russia. 

If  we  are  to  believe  the  excellent  governor  of  Nijni,  nothing 
can  be  more  simple :  the  habit  of  exercising  the  power  renders 
the  forms  of  command  gentle  and  easy.  Angry  passions,  ill- 
treatment,  the  abuses  of  authority,  are  becoming  extremely  rare, 
precisely  because  social  order  is  based  upon  extremely  severe 
laws ;  every  one  feels  that  to  preserve  for  such  laws  a  respect 
without  the  existence  of  which  the  state  would  be  overthrown, 
they  should  not  be  put  in  force  frequently  or  rashly.  It  is  requi- 
site that  the  action  of  despotic  government  be  observed  close  at 
hand,  to  understand  all  its  gentleness  (it  is  the  governor  of  Nijni 
who  now  speaks)  :  if  authority  preserves  any  force  in  Russia,  it 
is  to  be  attributed  to  the  moderation  of  the  men  who  exercise  it. 
Constantly  placed  between  an  aristocracy  which  the  more  easily 
abuses  its  power  because  its  prerogatives  are  ill-defined,  and  a 
people  who  the  more  willingly  misunderstand  their  duty  because 
the  obedience  exacted  from  them  is  not  ennobled  by  a  moral  feel- 
ing, the  men  who  command  can  only  preserve  the  prestige  of 
sovereignty  by  using  as  rarely  as  possible  violent  means :  these 
means  would  expose  the  measure  of  the  government's  strength ; 
and  it  judges  it  wiser  to  conceal  than  to  unveil  its  resources.  If 
a  noble  commits  any  reprehensible  act,  he  would  be  several  times 
warned  in  secret  by  the  governor  of  the  province  before  being 
admonished  officially.  If  warnings  and  reprimands  were  not 
sufficient,  the  tribunal  of  the  nobles  would  threaten  to  place  him 
under  guardianship ;  and  if  this  had  no  good  effect,  the  menace 
would  be  executed. 

All  this  superabundance  of  precaution  does  not  appear  to  me 
to  be  very  consolatory  to  the  serf,  who,  if  he  had  as  many  lives, 
might  die  a  hundred  times  under  the  knout  of  his  master,  before 
the  latter,  thus  prudently  warned  and  duly  admonished,  should 


FAIR    OF    NIJNI.  419 

be  obliged  to  give  account  of  his  injustices  or  his  atrocities.  It 
is  true,  that  the  day  after,  lord,  governor,  and  judges  might  all 
be  sent  to  Siberia;  but  this  would  be  rather  a  consolation  for 
the  imagination  of  the  poor  peasants  than  a  real  protection  from 
the  arbitrary  acts  of  subaltern  authorities,  who  are  ever  disposed 
to  abuse  the  power  delegated  to  them. 

The  common  people  have  very  rarely  recourse  to  the  legal 
tribunals  in  their  private  disputes.  This  enlightened  instinct 
appears  to  me  a  sure  indication  of  want  of  equity  in  the  judges. 
The  infrequency  of  litigation  may  have  two  causes — the  spirit  of 
justice  in  the  subjects,  and  the  spirit  of  iniquity  in  the  judges. 
In  Russia,  nearly  every  process  is  stifled  by  an  administrative 
decision,  which  very  often  recommends  an  arrangement  onerous 
to  both  parties,  who  prefer  the  reciprocal  sacrifice  of  a  part  of 
their  claims,  and  even  of  their  best-founded  rights,  to  the  danger 
of  proceeding  against  the  advice  of  a  man  invested  with  authority 
by  the  Emperor.  This  is  the  reason  why  the  Russians  have 
grounds  for  boasting  that  there  is  very  little  litigation  in  their 
land.  Fear  produces  everywhere  the  same  result — peace  without 
tranquillity. 

Will  not  the  reader  have  some  indulgence  for  a  traveller  lost 
in  a  country  where  facts  are  not  more  conclusive  than  words  ? 
The  fictions  of  the  Russians  have  upon  me  an  effect  precisely  the 
contrary  to  that  intended :  I  see  at  the  very  outset  the  design  to 
blind  and  dazzle  me ;  I  therefore  stand  upon  my  guard ;  and  the 
consequence  is,  that  instead  of  being  the  impartial  spectator  that 
I  should  have  been  but  for  their  vain  boasting,  I  become,  in 
spite  of  myself,  an  unfriendly  observer. 

The  governor  was  also  pleased  himself  to  show  me  the  fair  ; 
but  this  time  we  made  the  tour  of  it  rapidly,  in  a  carriage.  I 
admired  one  point  of  view  that  was  worthy  of  forming  a  panora- 
ma. To  enjoy  the  magnificent  picture,  we  ascended  the  summit 
of  one  of  the  Chinese  pavilions,  which  commands  an  entire  view 
of  the  city  of  a  month.  I  was  there  more  especially  struck  with 
the  immensity  of  the  piles  of  wealth  annually  accumulated  on 
this  point  of  land — a  focus  of  industry  the  more  remarkable,  be- 
cause it  is  lost,  as  it  were,  in  the  midst  of  deserts  without  bounds 
either  to  the  eye  or  the  imagination. 

The  governor  informs  me  that  the  value  of  the  merchandize 
brought  this  year  to  the  fair  at  Nijni  exceeds  one  hundred  and 
fifty  millions,*  according  to  the  manifestoes  of  the  merchants 

*  The  author  does  not  state  whether  these  are  francs  or  rubles. — Trans. 


420  VISITS    WITH    THE    GOVERNOR. 

themselves,  who,  with  the  mistrust  natural  to  Orientals,  always 
conceal  a  part  of  the  value  of  their  stock. 

Although  all  the  countries  in  the  world  send  the  tribute  of 
their  soil  and  industry  to  Nijni,  the  principal  importance  of  this 
annual  market  is  owing  to  its  being  a  depot  for  the  provisions, 
the  precious  stones,  the  stuffs,  and  the  furs  of  Asia.  The  wealth 
of  the  Tartars,  the  Persians,  and  the  Bucharians,  is  the  object 
which  most  strikes  the  imagination  of  the  strangers  attracted  by 
the  reputation  of  the  fair  ;  yet,  notwithstanding  its  commercial 
importance,  I,  as  merely  a  curious  observer,  find  it  below  its 
reputation.  They  reply  to  this,  that  the  Emperor  Alexander 
spoiled  its  picturesque  and  amusing  aspect.  He  rendered  the 
streets  which  separate  the  stalls  more  spacious  and  regular ;  but 
such  stiffness  is  dull  :  besides,  every  thing  is  gloomy  and  silent 
in  Russia ;  every  where  the  reciprocal  distrust  of  government 
and  people  banishes  mirth.  Every  passion  and  every  pleasure 
has  to  answer  for  its  consequences  to  some  rigid  confessor,  dis- 
guised as  an  agent  of  police ;  every  Russian  is  a  school-boy  lia- 
ble to  the  rod  ;  all  Russia  is  a  vast  college,  where  discipline  is 
enforced  by  severe  rule,  until  constraint  and  ennui,  becoming 
insupportable,  occasions  here  and  there  an  outbreak.  When  this 
takes  place,  it  is  a  regular  political  saturnalia ;  but,  once  again, 
the  acts  of  violence  are  isolated,  and  do  not  disturb  the  general 
quiet.  That  quiet  is  the  more  stable,  and  appears  the  more 
firmly  established,  because  it  resembles  death  :  it  is  only  living 
things  that  can  be  exterminated.  In  Russia,  respect  for  despot- 
ism is  confounded  with  the  idea  of  eternity. 

This  morning  early,  the  governor,  whose  obliging  kindness  I 
can  never  tire,  took  me  to  see  the  curiosities  of  the  old  city. 
His  servants  attended  him,  which  enabled  me  to  dispense  with 
putting  to  a  second  proof  the  docility  of  my  feldjager,  whose 
claims  the  governor  respects. 

There  is  in  Russia  a  class  of  persons  which  corresponds  to 
the  citizen  class  among  us,  though  without  possessing  the  firm- 
ness of  character  derived  from  an  independent  position,  and  the 
experience  obtained  by  means  of  liberty  of  thought  and  cultiva- 
tion of  mind :  this  is  the  class  of  subaltern  employes,  or  second- 
ary nobility.  The  ideas  of  these  men  are  generally  turned  to- 
wards innovations,  whilst  their  acts  are  the  most  despotic  that 
are  committed  under  despotism  :  this,  indeed,  is  the  class  which, 
in  spite  of  the  Emperor,  governs  the  empire.  They  pretend  to 
enlighten  the  people,  and  their  pretensions  incur  the  dislike  and 
contempt  of  both  great  and  little.  Their  impertinences  are  be- 


THE  AUTHOR'S  FELDJAGER.  421 

come  proverbial :  whoever  has  any  need  of  making  use  of  these 
demi-nobles,  newly  raised  by  their  office  and  their  rank  in  the 
tchinn  to  the  honours  of  territorial  proprietors,  revenges  himself 
upon  their  pride  by  unmerciful  ridicule.  These  men,  risen  from 
class  to  class,  and  attaining  at  length,  by  virtue  of  some  cross  or 
some  employ,  the  class  in  which  a  man  may  possess  lands  and 
fellow-men,  exercise  their  seignorial  rights  with  a  rigour  which 
renders  them  objects  of  execration  among  their  unhappy  pea- 
sants. What  a  singular  social  phenomenon  is  this  liberal  or 
changeable  element  in  a  despotic  system  of  government,  which 
system  it  here  renders  yet  more  intolerable  !  "  If  we  had  only 
the  old  lords,"  the  peasants  say,  "  we  should  not  complain  of 
our  condition.  These  new  men,  so  hated  by  the  small  number 
who  are  their  serfs,  are  also  masters  of  the  supreme  master ; 
and  are  the  preparers  likewise  of  a  revolution  in  Russia, — first, 
by  the  direct  influence  of  their  ideas,  and,  secondly,  by  the  indi- 
rect consequences  of  the  hatred  and  contempt  which  they  excite 
among  the  people.  Republican  tyranny  under  autocratical ! — 
what  a  combination  of  evils  ! 

These  are  enemies  created  by  the  emperors  themselves,  in 
their  distrust  of  the  old  nobility.  An  avowed  aristocracy,  long 
rooted  in  the  land,  but  moderated  by  the  progress  of  manners 
and  the  amelioration  of  customs,  would  have  been  an  instrument 
of  civilization  preferable  to  the  hypocritical  obedience,  the  de- 
structive influence,  of  a  host  of  commissioners  and  deputies,  the 
greater  number  of  foreign  origin,  and  all  more  or  less  imbued, 
in  the  secret  of  their  hearts,  with  revolutionary  notions ;  all 
as  insolent  in  their  thoughts  as  obsequious  in  their  words  and 
manners. 

My  courier,  unwilling  to  perform  his  business  because  he  is 
near  attaining  the  prerogative  of  this  order  of  nobility,  is  the 
profoundly  comic  type  of  its  nature  and  character.  I  wish  I  could 
describe  his  slim  figure,  his  carefully-adjusted  dress,  his  sharp, 
thin,  dry,  pitiless,  yet  humble  countenance — humble  whilst  wait- 
ing till  it  may  have  the  right  to  become  arrogant ;  in  short,  this 
type  of  a  puppy,  in  a  country  where  conceit  is  not  harmless  as 
with  us ;  for  in  Russia  it  is  a  sure  means  of  rising,  if  only  it 
unite  itself  with  servility  : — but  this  person  eludes  the  definition 
of  words,  as  an  adder  glides  out  of  sight.  He  represents  to  my 
eyes  the  union  of  two  political  forces,  the  most  opposite  in  ap- 
pearance, although  possessing  much  real  affinity,  and  although 
detestable  when  combined — despotism  and  revolution  !  I  cannot 
observe  his  eyes  of  clouded  blue  bordered  with  nearly  white 


422  FLAG    OF    MININE. 

lashes,  his  complexion,  which  would  be  delicate,  but  for  the 
bronzing  rays  of  the  sun  and  the  frequent  influence  of  an  internal 
and  always  repressed  rage,  his  pale  and  thin  lips,  his  dry  yet 
civil  words,  the  intonation  of  which  utters  the  very  opposite  of 
the  phraseology,  without  viewing  him  as  a  protecting  spy,  a  spy 
respected  even  by  the  governor  of  Nijni ;  and  under  the  influence 
of  this  idea  I  am  tempted  to  order  post-horses,  and  never  to  stop 
until  beyond  the  frontiers  of  Russia. 

The  powerful  governor  of  Nijni  does  not  dare  to  command 
this  ambitious  courier  to  mount  the  box  of  my  carriage ;  and, 
though  the  representative  of  supreme  authority,  can  only  advise 
me  to  be  patient. 

Minine,  the  liberator  of  Russia, — that  heroic  peasant  whose 
memory  has  become  especially  popular  since  the  French  invasion, 
is  buried  at  Nijni.  His  tomb  may  be  seen  at  the  cathedral,  among 
those  of  the  great  dukes. 

It  was  in  this  city  that  the  cry  of  deliverance  first  resounded, 
at  the  time  when  the  empire  was  occupied  by  the  Poles. 

Minine,  a  simple  serf,  sought  the  presence  of  Pojarski,  a 
Russian  noble  :  the  language  of  the  peasant  breathed  enthusiasm 
and  hope.  Pojarski,  electrified  by  the  sacred  though  rude  elo- 
quence, gathered  together  a  few  men.  The  daring  deeds  of  these 
heroes  attracted  others  to  their  standard  :  they  marched  upon 
Moscow,  and  liberated  Russia. 

Since  the  retreat  of  the  Poles,  the  flag  of  Pojarski  and  Minine 
has  always  been  an  object  of  great  veneration  among  tne  Russians  : 
the  peasants  inhabiting  a  village  between  Yarowslaf  and  Nijni 
preserved  it  as  a  national  relic.  But  during  the  war  of  1812,  a 
necessity  was  felt  of  exciting  the  soldiers  to  enthusiasm ;  histori- 
cal associations  were  revived,  especially  those  connected  with 
Minine  ;  and  the  keepers  of  his  banner  were  requested  to  lend 
that  palladium  to  the  new  liberators  of  their  country,  that  it 
might  be  carried  at  the  head  of  the  army.  The  ancient  guar- 
dians of  the  national  treasure  only  consented  to  part  with  it 
through  a  feeling  of  devotion  to  the  country,  and  upon  receiving 
a  solemn  oath  that  it  should  be  returned  to  them  after  victory, 
when  its  new  triumphs  would  render  it  yet  more  illustrious.  It 
was  thus  that  the  flag  of  Minine  followed  our  army  in  its  retreat : 
but,  when  afterwards  carried  back  to  Moscow,  instead  of  being 
returned  to  its  legitimate  possessors,  it  was  detained  and  depos- 
ited in  the  Treasury  of  the  Kremlin,  in  contempt  of  the  most 
solemn  promises  ;  while,  to  satisfy  the  just  appeals  of  the  de- 
spoiled peasants,  a  copy  of  their  miraculous  ensign  was  sent  to 


MODERN    VANDALISM.  423 

them — a  copy  which,  in  the  derisive  condescension  of  the  robbers, 
was  made  exactly  similar  to  the  original. 

Such  are  the  lessons  in  good  faith  which  the  Russian  govern- 
ment gives  its  people.  Nor  in  this  country  is  historical  truth 
any  better  respected  than  the  sanctity  of  oaths  :  the  authenticity 
of  stones  is  as  difficult  to  establish  as  that  of  words  or  of  writ- 
ings. Under  each  new  reign  the  edifices  are  remodelled  at  the 
will  of  the  sovereign  :  none  remain  where  placed  by  their  foun- 
ders :  the  very  tombs  are  not  shielded  from  the  tempest  of  im- 
perial caprice  :  even  the  dead  are  exposed  to  the  fantasies  of  him 
who  rules  the  living.  The  Emperor  Nicholas,  who  is  now  playing 
the  architect  in  Moscow,  and  reconstructing  the  Kremlin,  is  not  at 
his  first  attempt  of  the  kind.  Nijni  has  already  seen  him  at  work. 

This  morning  on  entering  the  cathedral,  I  felt  impressed  by 
the  ancient  appearance  of  the  edifice  which  contains  the  tomb  of 
Minine  :  it,  at  least,  has  been  respected  for  more  than  two  hundred 
years,  I  thought  to  myself;  and  this  conclusion  caused  me  to  find 
the  aspect  of  the  place  the  more  august. 

The  governor  led  me  to  the  sepulchre  of  the  hero  :  it  lies 
among  the  monuments  of  the  ancient  sovereigns  of  Nijni ;  and 
when  the  Emperor  Nicholas  visited  it,  he  descended  patriotically 
into  the  cave  even  where  the  body  is  deposited. 

"  This  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  interesting  of  the 
churches  that  I  have  seen  in  your  country,"  I  observed  to  the 
governor. 

"  It  was  I  who  built  it,"  replied  M.  Boutourline. 

"  How  ?  .  .  .  .  You  mean,  doubtless,  to  say  that  you  restor- 
ed it  ?  " 

"  No  ;  the  ancient  church  was  falling  into  ruins  :  the  Emperer 
preferred  its  being  reconstructed  rather  than  repaired  :  it  is  only 
two  years  ago  that  it  stood  fifty  paces  further  on,  and  formed  a 
projection  that  interfered  with  the  regularity  of  our  Kremlin's  in- 
terior." 

"  But  the  corpse  and  bones  of  Minine  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  They  were  disinterred  with  those  of  the  grand  dukes  :  all 
are  now  placed  in  the  new  sepulchre,  of  which  you  see  the  stone." 

I  could  not  have  replied  without  causing  an  unpleasant  com- 
motion in  the  mind  of  a  provincial  governor  as  attached  to  the 
duties  of  his  office  as  is  the  governor  of  Nijni.  I  therefore  fol 
lowed  him,  in  silence,  to  the  little  obelisk  of  the  square,  and  to- 
wards the  immense  ramparts  of  the  Kremlin  of  Nijni. 

We  here  see  what  is  understood  by  veneration  for  the  dead, 
and  respect  for  historical  monuments  in  Russia.  The  Emperor, 


424  THE  GOVERNOR'S  CAMP. 

who  knows  that  ancient  things  are  venerable,  desires  that  a  church, 
built  yesterday,  should  be  honoured  as  old  ;  and  to  produce  this, 
he  says  that  it  is  old,  whereupon  it  becomes  so.  The  new  church 
of  Minine  is  the  ancient  one ;  if  you  doubt  this  truth,  you  are 
seditious. 

Every  where  is  to  be  seen  the  same  system — that  of  Peter  the 
Great — perpetuated  by  his  successors.  That  man  believed  and 
proved  that  the  will  of  a  Muscovite  czar  might  serve  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  the  laws  of  nature,  for  the  rules  of  art,  for  truth,  his- 
tory, and  humanity,  for  the  ties  of  blood,  and  of  religion.  If  the 
Russians  still  venerate  him  it  is  because  their  vanity  outweighs 
their  judgment.  "  Behold,"  they  say,  "  what  Russia  was  before 
the  accession  of  that  great  prince,  and  what  she  has  become  after  : 
see  what  a  monarch  of  genius  can  do  !  "  This  is  a  false  mode  of 
appreciating  the  glory  of  a  nation.  I  see,  among  the  most  civil- 
ised states  in  the  world,  some  whose  power  extends  to  none  ex- 
cept their  own  subjects  ;  and  these,  even,  are  few  in  number. 
Such  states  have  no  influence  in  universal  politics.  It  is  not  by 
the  pride  of  conquest,  nor  by  political  tyranny  exercised  over 
foreign  interests,  that  their  governments  acquire  a  right  to  uni- 
versal gratitude ;  it  is  by  good  examples,  by  wise  laws,  by  an 
enlightened  and  beneficent  administration.  With  such  advan- 
tages, a  small  nation  may  become — not  conquerers,  not  oppressors, 
but  LIGHTS  of  the  world  ;  and  this  is.  a  hundred  times  preferable. 

The  thick  walls  of  the  Nijni  Kremlin  wind  around  a  hill  much 
loftier  and  steeper  than  the  hill  of  Moscow.  The  ramparts,  ris- 
ing in  steps  above  each  other,  the  terraces,  arches,  and  battle- 
ments of  this  fortress,  produce  a  striking  effect :  but,  notwith- 
standing the  beauty  of  the  site,  he  would  be  deceived  who  should 
expect,  in  beholding  it,  to  be  seized  with  astonishment  produced 
by  the  Kremlin  of  Moscow — that  religious  fortress  in  which  his- 
tory is  written  on  rock.  The  Kremlin  of  Moscow  is  an  object 
that  has  not  its  like,  either  in  Russia  or  in  the  world. 

We  also  visited  a  very  pretty  convent :  the  nuns  are  poor, 
but  their  house  exhibits  edifying  marks  of  cleanliness.  After- 
wards, the  governor  took  me  to  see  his  camp :  the  rage  for  ma- 
nosuvres,  reviews,  and  bivouacs  is  universal.  The  governors  of  the 
provinces,  like  the  Emperor,  pass  their  life  in  playing  at  soldiers ; 
and  the  more  numerous  these  assemblages  are,  the  more  proudly 
do  the  governors  feel  their  resemblance  to  their  master.  The  re- 
giments which  form  the  camp  of  Nijni  are  composed  of  the  chil- 
dren of  soldiers.  It  was  evening  when  we  reached  their  tents, 
reared  on  a  plain  which  is  a  continuation  of  the  table  of  the  hill 
on  which  stands  old  Nijni. 


CHURCH    OF   THE    STROGONOFFS.  425 

Six  hundred  men  were  chanting  the  prayers  ;  and  at  a  dis- 
tance, in  the  open  air,  this  religious  and  military  choir  produced 
an  astonising  eflect ;  it  was  like  a  cloud  of  perfume  rising  majes- 
tically under  a  pure  and  deep  sky  :  prayer,  ascending  from  that 
abyss  of  passions  and  sorrows,  the  heart  of  man,  may  be  compared 
to  the  column  of  smoke  and  fire  which  rises  through  the  torn  cra- 
ter of  the  volcano,  until  it  reaches  the  firmament.  And  who 
knows  if  the  pillar  of  the  Israelites,  so  long  lost  in  the  desert,  did 
not  image  the  same  thing  ?  The  voices  of  these  poor  Sclavonian 
soldiers,  softened  by  the  distance,  seemed  to  come  from  on  high. 
When  the  first  notes  struck  our  ears,  a  knoll  on  the  plain  hid  the 
tents  from  our  eyes.  The  weakened  echoes  of  earth  responded 
to  these  celestial  voices ;  and  the  music  was  interrupted  by  dis- 
tant discharges  of  musquetry — a  warlike  orchestra,  which  scarce- 
ly seemed  more  loud  than  the  great  drums  of  the  Opera,  and 
which  appeared  much  more  in  place  than  they  do.  When  the 
tents,  whence  issued  the  harmonious  notes,  were  seen  before  us, 
the  setting  sun,  glistening  upon  their  canvas,  added  the  magic  of 
colour  to  that  of  sounds. 

The  governor,  who  saw  the  pleasure  that  I  experienced  in 
listening  to  this  music,  allowed  me  to  enjoy  it,  and  enjoyed  it  him- 
self for  a  considerable  time :  nothing  gives  greater  pleasure  to 
this  truly  hospitable  man  than  to  procure  enjoyment  for  his  guests. 
The  best  way  of  showing  him  your  gratitude  is  to  let  him  see  your 
gratification.  We  finished  our  ride  by  twilight ;  and,  returning 
through  the  low  town,  we  stopped  before  a  church  which  has  not 
ceased  to  attract  my  eyes  since  I  have  been  in  Nijni.  It  is  a  true 
model  of  Russian  architecture ;  neither  ancient  Greek,  nor  the 
Greek  of  the  Lower  Empire,  but  a  Delft-ware  toy,  in  the  style  of 
the  Kremlin,  or  of  the  church  of  Vassili  Blagennoi,  though  with 
less  variety  in  the  form  and  colour.  It  is  so  covered  with  flower- 
work  and  carving,  of  curious  form,  that  one  cannot  stop  before  it 
without  thinking  of  a  vessel  of  Dresden  china.  This  little  chef- 
d'oeuvre  of  the  whimsical  is  not  ancient.  It  was  raised  by  the 
munificence  of  the  Strogonoff  family ;  great  nobles  descended  from 
the  merchants,  at  whose  cost  was  made  the  conquest  of  Siberia 
under  Ivan  IV.  The  brothers  Strogonoff  of  that  period  themselves 
raised  the  adventurous  army  which  conquered  a  kingdom  for 
Russia.  Their  soldiers  were  the  buccaneers  of  terra  firma. 

The  interior  of  the  church  of  the  Strogonoffs  does  not  answer 
to  its  exterior ;  but,  such  as  it  is,  I  greatly  prefer  it  to  the  clumsy 
copies  of  Roman  temples  with  which  Petersburg  and  Moscow  are 
encumbered. 

To  finish  the  day  we  attended  the  opera  of  the  fair,  and  listened 


426  MURDER  OF  A  GERMAN  LANDHOLDER. 

to  a  vaudeville  in  the  native  language.  The  Russian  vaudevilles 
are  still  translations  from  the  French.  The  people  of  the  country 
appear  to  be  very  proud  of  this  new  means  of  civilization  which 
they  have  imported.  I  was  unable  to  judge  of  the  influence  of 
the  spectacle  upon  the  minds  of  the  assembly,  owing  to  the  fact 
of  the  theatre  being  empty  almost  to  the  letter.  Besides  the  ennui 
and  the  compassion  one  feels  in  the  presence  of  poor  players,  when 
there  is  no  audience,  I  experienced  on  this  occasion  the  disagree- 
able impression  which  the  mixing  up  of  singing  and  speaking- 
scenes  has  always  communicated  to  me  in  our  own  theatres.  This 
barbarism,  without  the  salt  of  French  wit,  would,  but  for  the 
governor,  have  driven  me  away  during  the  first  act.  As  it  was,  I 
remained  patient  until  the  conclusion  of  the  performance. 

I  have  been  passing  the  night  in  writing  to  dissipate  my  ennui ; 
but  this  effort  has  made  me  ill,  and  I  am  going  to  bed  in  a  fever. 


CHAPTER  XXXI.* 

Assassination  of  a  German  landholder.— Russian  Aversion  to  Innovations.— Consequences  of 
the  established  State  of  Things.— Servility  of  the  Peasants.— Exile  of  M.  Guibal.— A  Mus- 
covite Witch.— A  sick  Man  among  his  friends  in  Russia.— Russian  Charity.— A  Passion 
for  Tombs. — Nocturnal  Lessons  in  Etiquette.— Gipsies  at  the  Fair.— The  Virtues  of  Out- 
casts.—Victor  Hugo.— Project  of  visiting  Kazan  abandoned.— Medical  Advice.— Ideas  of 
the  Russians  respecting  Free  Governments.— Vladimir.—  The  Forests  of  Russia. — The  Use 
of  a  Feldjager. — False  Delicacy  imposed  ujxrn  Foreigners.— Centralization.— Rencontre 
with  an  Elephant— An  Accident.— Return  to  Moscow.— A  Farewell  to  the  Kremlin.— Effect 
produced  by  the  Vicinity  of  the  Emperor.— Military  Fete  at  Borodino.— The  Author's 
Motives  for  not  attending  —Prince  Wittgenstein. 

A  M.  JAMENT  related  to  me,  at  Nijni,  that  a  German,  a  new  lord 
of  the  village,  a  great  agriculturist  and  a  propagator  of  modes  of 
husbandry  still  unused  in  this  country,  has  just  been  assassinated 
on  his  own  domains,  contiguous  to  those  of  a  M.  Merline,  another 
foreigner,  through  whom  the  fact  has  come  to  our  knowledge. 

Two  men  presented  themselves  to  this  German  lord,  under 
the  pretext  of  purchasing  horses  of  him ;  and  in  the  evening, 
they  entered  his  chamber  and  murdered  him.  It  was,  I  am  as- 
sured, a  blow  aimed  by  the  peasants  of  the  foreigner  in  revenge 
for  the  innovations  which  he  sought  to  make  in  the  culture  of 
their  land. 

*  Written  at  Vladimir,  between  Nijni  and  Moscow,  the  2d  of  September. 


RUSSIAN    AVERSION    TO    INNOVATIONS.  427 

The  people  of  this  country  have  an  aversion  for  every  thing 
that  is  not  Russian.  I  often  hear  it  repeated,  that  they  will  some 
day  rise  from  one  end  of  the  empire  to  the  other  upon  the  men 
without  a  beard  and  destroy  them  all.  It  is  by  the  beard  that 
the  Russians  know  each  other.  In  the  eyes  of  the  peasants,  a 
Russian  with  a  shaved  chin  is  a  traitor,  who  has  sold  himself  to 
foreigners,  and  who  deserves  to  share  their  fate.  But  what  will 
be  the  punishment  inflicted  by  the  survivors  upon  the  authors  of 
these  Muscovite  Vespers  ?  All  Russia  cannot  be  sent  to  Siberia. 
Villages  may  be  transported,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  exile 
provinces.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  this  kind  of  punishment 
strikes  the  peasants  without  hurting  them.  A  Russian  recognizes 
his  country  wherever  long  winters  reign  :  snow  has  always  the 
same  aspect ;  the  winding-sheet  of  the  earth  is  every  where  equally 
white,  whether  its  thickness  be  six  inches  or  six  feet ;  so  that,  if 
they  only  allow  him  to  re-construct  his  cabin  and  his  sledge,  the 
Russian  finds  himself  at  home  to  whatever  spot  he  maybe  exiled. 
In  the  deserts  of  the  north  it  costs  little  to  make  a  country.  To 
the  man  who  has  never  seen  any  thing  but  icy  plains  scattered 
with  stunted  trees,  every  cold  and  desert  land  represents  his  na- 
tive soil.  Besides,  the  inhabitants  of  these  latitudes  are  always 
inclined  to  quit  the  place  of  their  birth. 

Scenes  of  disorder  are  multiplying  in  the  country :  every  day 
I  hear  of  some  new  crime :  but,  by  the  time  it  is  made  public, 
it  has  already  become  ancient,  which  tends  to  weaken  its  impres- 
siveness,  especially  as  from  so  many  isolated  atrocities  nothing 
results  to  disturb  the  general  repose  of  the  country.  As  I  have 
already  said,  tranquillity  is  maintained  among  this  people  by  the 
length  and  difficulties  of  communication,  and  by  the  secrecy  of 
the  government,  which  perpetuates  the  evil  through  fear  of  dis- 
closing it.  To  these  causes.  I  may  add  the  blind  obedience  of 
the  troops,  and,  above  all,  the  complete  ignorance  of  the  country 
people  themselves.  But,  singular  conjunction  of  facts  ! — the 
latter  remedy  is,  at  the  same  time,  the  first  cause  of  the  evil :  it 
is,  therefore,  difficult  to  see  how  the  nation  will  get  out  of  the 
dangerous  circle  in  which  circumstances  have  involved  it.  Hither- 
to, the  good  and  the  evil,  the  danger  and  the  safety,  have  come 
to  it  from  the  same  source. 

The  reader  can  form  no  conception  of  the  manner  in  which  a 
lord,  when  taking  possession  of  some  newly-acquired  domain,  is 
received  by  his  peasants.  They  exhibit  a  servility  which  would 
appear  incredible  to  the  people  of  our  country  :  men,  women,  and 
children,  all  fall  on  their  knees  before  their  new  master — all  kiss 


428  SERVILITY    OF    THE    PEASANTS. 

the  hands,  and  sometimes  the  feet,  of  the  landholder ;  and,  0  ! 
miserable  profanation  of  faith  ! — those  who  are  old  enough  to  err, 
voluntarily  confess  to  him  their  sins — he  being  to  them  the  image 
and  the  envoy  of  G-od,  representing  both  the  King  of  Heaven  and 
the  Emperor  !  Such  fanaticism  in  servitude  must  end  in  casting 
an  illusion  over  the  mind  of  him  who  is  its  object,  especially  if  he 
has  not  long  attained  the  rank  which  he  possesses  :  the  change  of 
fortune  thus  marked,  must  so  dazzle  him  as  to  persuade  him  that 
he  is  not  of  the  same  race  as  those  prostrate  at  his  feet — those 
whom  he  suddenly  finds  himself  empowered  to  command.  It  is 
no  paradox  which  I  put  forward,  when  I  maintain  that  the  aris- 
tocracy of  birth  could  alone  ameliorate  the  condition  of  the 
serfs,  and  enable  them  to  profit  by  emancipation  through  gentle 
and  gradual  transitions.  Their  slavery  becomes  insupportable 
under  the  new  men  of  wealth.  Under  the  old  ones,  it  is  hard 
enough :  but  these  are  at  least  b0rn  above  them,  and  also  among 
them,  which  is  a  consolation ;  besides,  the  habit  of  authority  is 
as  natural  to  the  one  party  as  that  of  slavery  is  to  the  other ;  and 
habit  mitigates  every  thing,  mollifying  the  injustice  of  the  strong, 
and  lightening  the  yoke  of  the  feeble.  But  the  change  of  for- 
tunes and  conditions  produces  frightful  results  in  a  country  sub- 
jected to  a  system  of  servitude :  and  yet,  it  is  this  very  change 
which  maintains  the  duration  of  the  present  order  of  things  in 
Russia,  because  it  conciliates  the  men  who  know  how  to  benefit 
by  it — a  second  example  of  the  remedy  being  drawn  from  the 
source  of  the  evil.  Terrible  circle,  round  which  revolve  all  the 
populations  of  a  vast  empire  !  This  lord,  this  new  deity — what 
title  has  he  to  be  adored  ?  He  is  adored  because  he  has  had 
enough  money  and  capacity  for  intrigue  to  be  able  to  buy  the  land 
to  which  are  attached  all  the  men  prostrate  before  him.  An  up- 
start appears  to  me  a  monster,  in  a  country  where  the  life  of  the 
poor  depends  upon  the  rich,  and  where  man  is  the  fortune  of  man ; 
the  onward  progress  of  industrious  enterprise,  and  the  immove- 
ableness  of  villeinage,  combined  in  the  same  society,  produce  re- 
sults that  are  revolting :  but  the  despot  loves  the  upstart — he  is 
his  creature  !  The  position  of  a  new  lord  is  this  :  yesterday  his 
slave  was  his  equal :  to-day,  his  industry  more  or  less  honest, 
his  flatteries  more  or  less  mean,  have  put  it  into  his  power  to 
purchase  a  certain  number  of  his  comrades.  To  become  the  beast 
of  burden  of  an  equal  is  an  intolerable  evil.  It  is,  however,  a 
result  which  an  impious  alliance  of  arbitrary  customs  and  liberal, 
or,  to  speak  more  justly,  unstable  institutions,  can  bring  upon  a 
people.  No  where  else  does  the  man  who  makes  a  fortune  have 


EXILE    OF    M.    GUIBAL.  429 

his  feet  kissed  by  his  vanquished  rival.     Anomalies  the  most 
shocking  have  become  the  basis  of  the  Russian  constitution. 

I  may  allude,  en  passant,  to  a  singular  confusion  of  ideas  pro- 
duced in  the  minds  of  the  people  by  the  system  to  which  they  are 
subjected.  Under  this  system,  the  individual  is  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  soil,  being,  indeed,  sold  with  it ;  but  instead  of 
recognizing  himself  as  a  fixture,  and  the  soil  as  transferable — in 
other  words,  instead  of  perceiving  that  he  belongs  to  this  soil,  by 
means  of  which  men  dispose  of  him  despotically,  he  fancies  that 
the  soil  is  his  own.  In  truth,  his  error  of  perception  is  reduced 
to  a  mere  optical  illusion ;  for,  possessor  as  he  imagines  himself 
of  the  land,  he  yet  does  not  understand  how  it  can  be  sold  with 
out  the  sale  also  of  those  who  inhabit  it.  Thus  when  he  changes 
masters,  he  does  not  say  that  the  soil  has  been  sold  to  a  new  pro- 
prietor ;  he  considers  that  it  is  his  own  person  that  has  been  first 
sold,  and  that,  over  and  above  the  bargain,  his  land  has  gone  with 
him — that  land  which  saw  him  born,  and  which  has  supplied  him 
with  the  means  of  life.  How  could  liberty  be  given  to  men 
whose  acquaintance  with  social  laws  is  about  on  a  level  with  that 
of  the  trees  and  plants  ? 

M.  Gruibal — every  time  that  I  am  authorized  to  cite  a  name, 
I  use  the  permission — M.  G-uibal,  the  son  of  a  schoolmaster,  was 
exiled  without  cause,  or  at  least  without  explanation,  and  without 
being  able  to  guess  his  crime,  into  a  Siberian  village  in  the  en- 
virons of  Orenburg.  A  song  which  he  composed  to  beguile  his 
sorrow  was  listened  to  by  an  inspector,  who  put  it  before  the  eyes 
of  the  governor  ;  it  attracted  the  attention  of  that  august  person- 
age, who  sent  his  aide-de-camp  to  the  exile  to  inform  himself  re- 
garding the  circumstances  of  his  situation  and  his  conduct,  and 
to  judge  if  he  was  good  for  any  thing.  The  unfortunate  man 
succeeded  in  interesting  the  aide-de-camp,  who,  on  his  return, 
made  a  very  favourable  report,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was 
immediately  recalled.  He  has  never  known  the  real  cause  of  his. 
misfortune  :  perhaps  it  was  another  song. 

Such  are  the  circumstances  on  which  depends  the  fate  of  a  man 
in  Russia ! 

The  following  story  is  of  a  different  character  : 

In  the  domains  of  Prince ,  beyond  Nijni,  a  female  pea- 
sant obtained  the  character  of  being  a  witch,  and  her  reputation 
spread  far  and  wide.  Prodigies  were  said  to  be  performed  by  this 
woman ;  but  her  husband  grumbled  ;  the  household  was  neglected, 
and  the  work  abandoned.  The  steward  confirmed  in  his  report 
all  that  was  said  of  the  sorceress.  The  prince  visited  his  do- 


430  HALLUCINATIONS    OF    RANK. 

mains.  The  first  subject  about  which  he  made  inquiry  was  the 
affair  of  the  famous  demoniac.  The  pope  told  him  that  the  state 
of  the  woman  grew  worse  daily,  that  she  no  longer  spoke,  and 
that  he  was  determined  to  exorcise  her.  The  ceremony  took 
place  in  the  presence  of  the  lord,  but  without  any  effect ;  he,  be- 
ing determined  to  get  to  the  bottom  of  so  singular  an  affair,  had 
recourse  to  the  Russian  remedy  par  excellence,  and  sentenced  the 
possessed  woman  to  be  flogged.  This  treatment  did  not  fail  to 
produce  its  effect. 

At  the  twenty-fifth  stroke  the  sufferer  asked  for  mercy,  and 
swore  to  tell  the  truth ;  which  truth  was,  that  she  had  married  a 
man  whom  she  did  not  love ;  and  that,  to  avoid  working  for  his 
benefit  she  had  pretended  to  be  possessed.  The  enactment  of  this 
comedy  suited  her  indolence,  and  at  the  same  time  restored  the 
health  of  a  multitude  of  sick  people,  who  repaired  to  her  full  of 
faith  and  hope,  and  returned  cured. 

Sorcerers  are  not  scarce  among  the  Russian  peasants,  with 
whom  they  supply  the  place  of  physicians :  these  rogues  perform 
numerous  and  complete  cures,  as  is  corroborated  even  by  the  sci- 
entific practitioners  !  What  a  triumph  for  Moliere  !  and  what  a 
vortex  of  doubt  for  all  the  world !  .  .  Imagination  !  .  .  .  who  can 
tell  if  imagination  is  not  a  lever  in  the  hand  of  God  to  raise  crea- 
tures of  limited  powers  above  themselves  ?  For  my  own  part,  I 
carry  doubt  to  a  point  that  brings  me  back  to  faith ;  for  I  believe, 
against  my  reason,  that  the  sorcerer  can  cure  even  unbelievers,  by 
means  of  a  power  whose  existence  I  cannot  deny,  and  yet  know 
not  how  to  define.  By  recourse  to  the  word  imagination,  our 
learned  men  dispense  with  explaining  the  phenomenon  which  they 
can  neither  refute  nor  comprehend.  Imagination  is  to  certain 
metaphysicians  what  the  nerves  are  to  certain  medical  men. 

An  anecdote  here  occurs  to  me  which  will  show  whether  I  am 
wrong  in  thinking  that  there  are  men  who  become  dupes  of  the 
worship  which  the  serf  renders  to  the  lord.  Flattery  has  so  much 
power  over  the  human  heart  that,  in  the  long  run,  the  most  clumsy 
of  all^  flatterers,  fear  and  interest,  find  a  way  of  attaining  their 
end :  it  is  thus  that  many  Russians  suppose  themselves  to  pos- 
sess a  different  nature  from  the  common  orders. 

A  Russian,  immensely  rich,  but  who  ought  to  have  been  en- 
lightened as  regards  the  miseries  and  infirmities  of  wealth  and 
power— for  the  fortune  of  his  family  had  been  established  for  two 
generations — was  travelling  in  Germany.  He  fell  sick  in  a  small 
town,  and  called  in  the  chief  physician  of  the  place  :  at  first  he 
submitted  to  every  thing  that  was  ordered;  but  not  finding  him- 


RUSSIAN    CHARITY.  431 

self  at  the  end  of  a  few  days  any  better,  he  grew  weary  of  obedi- 
ence, rose  up  angrily,  and  throwing  off  the  veil  of  civilization  in 
which  he  had  deemed  it  advisable  to  muffle  himself,  he  called  the 
landlord,  and,  while  rapidly  marching  up  and  down  his  chamber, 
thus  addressed  him  :  "  I  do  not  understand  the  manner  in  which 
I  am  treated  :  here  I  have  been  dosed  for  three  days  without  be- 
ing in  the  least  benefited  :  what  kind  of  a  doctor  have  you  sent 
me  ?  he.  cannot  know  who  lam  /" 

As  I  have  commenced  my  chapter  with  anecdotes,  here  is 
another,  less  piquant,  but  which  will  give  an  idea  of  the  character 
and  habits  of  the  people  in  high  life  in  llussia.  It  is  only  the 
fortunate  who  are  well  treated  here  ;  and  this  exclusive  preference 
sometimes  produces  very  inconsistent  scenes. 

A  young  Frenchman  had  perfectly  succeeded  in  gaining  the 
good  graces  of  a  social  circle  met  together  in  the  country.,  There 
was  quite  a  contest  who  should  do  him  most  honour  :  dinners, 
balls,  excursions,  hunting-matches — nothing  was  wanting,  and  the. 
stranger  was  enchanted  :  he  boasted  to  all  comers  of  the  hos- 
pitality and  elegance  of  these  calumniated  barbarians  of  the 
North ! 

A  short  time  after,  the  young  enthusiast  fell  ill  in  a  neigh- 
bouring town.  So  long  as  the  malady  continued,  and  grew  worse, 
his  most  intimate  friends  were  invisible  and  silent  as  the  grave. 
Two  months  thus  passed  ;  scarcely  did  any  one  during  that  time 
send  to  make  an  inquiry  after  him.  At  length  youth  triumphed, 
and,  notwithstanding  the  doctor  of  the  place,  the  traveller  became 
convalescent.  As  soon  as  he  was  perfectly  restored,  all  his  for- 
mer friends  resorted  to  him  to  celebrate  his  recovery,  as  though 
they  had  been  thinking  only  of  him  during  the  whole  time  of  his 
illness  :  to  have  seen  -their  delight,  you  would  have  said  it  was 
they  who  had  been  raised  again  to  life.  He  was  loaded  with 
protestations  of  friendship  ;  he  was  overwhelmed  with  new  projects 
of  diversion ;  he  was  caressed  with  feline  tenderness  : — capricious- 
ness,  egotism,  and  inconstancy  are  velvet  paws  :  visitors  came  to 
play  at  cards  by  his  arm-chair  :  they  proposed  to  send  him  a  sofa, 
sweetmeats  and  wine ; — now  that  he  had  no  longer  need  of  any 
thing,  every  thing  was  at  his  disposal.  However,  he  did  not  allow 
himself  to  be  a  second  time  caught  by  this  bait,  he  profited  by  the 
lesson,  and,  rich  in  experience,  entered  his  carriage  in  all  haste, 
impatient,  he  said,  to  fly  from  a  country  which  is  hospitable  only 
to  those  who  are  fortunate,  useful,  or  amusing ! 

An  intellectual,  elderly  French  woman,  an  emigrte  resided  in 
a  provincial  town.  One  day  she  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  a  Russian 


432  A    PASSION    FOR    TOMBS. 

lady  of  her  acquaintance.  In  many  of  the  houses  in  the  country, 
the  stair-cases  are  covered  by  trap-doors.  The  French  lady,  who 
had  not  remarked  one  of  these  deceptive  openings,  in  proceeding 
to  descend,  fell  down  about  fifteen  wooden  steps.  What  course 
did  the  lady  of  the  house  take  ?  The  reader  would  not  easily 
guess.  Without  even  seeking  to  inform  herself  whether  her 
unfortunate  friend  was  dead  or  alive — without  running  to  her 
aid,  without  sending  for  a  surgeon,  or  even  calling  for  help,  she 
ran  devoutly  to  shut  herself  up  in  her  oratory,  there  to  pray  the 
holy  Virgin  to  come  to  the  succour  of  the  poor  dead,  or  wounded, 
—  either  one  or  the  other,  as  it  might  please  God  to  ordain. 
Meantime  the  wounded — not  the  dead — had  time  to  rise,  and, 
there  being  no  limb  broken,  to  re-ascend  into  the  antechamber, 
and  to  cause  herself  to  be  conveyed  home  before  her  pious  friend 
had  quitted  her  cushion  of  prayer.  That  individual  could  not, 
indeed,  be  brought  out  of  her  asylum,  until  she  had  been  loudly 
assured,  through  the  key-hole,  that  the  accident  was  without 
serious  consequences,  and  that  her  friend  had  returned  home. 
Upon  this,  active  charity  again  awoke  in  the  breast  of  the  good 
Russian  devotee,  who,  recognizing  the  efficacy  of  her  prayers, 
hastened  officiously  to  her  friend's  house,  insisted  on  entering 
her  apartment,  and  having  reached  her  bedside,  overwhelmed  her 
with  protestations  of  interest,  which,  for  upwards  of  an  hour,  de- 
prived her  of  the  repose  she  so  much  required. 

The  above  trait  of  childishness  was  related  to  me  by  the  indi- 
vidual to  whom  the  accident  happened.  We  need  not  be  surprised, 
after  this,  to  hear  that  people  fall  into  the  river,  and  drown  there, 
without  any  one  running  to  their  succour,  or  even  daring  to  speak 
of  their  death  ! 

Whimsical  sentiments  of  every  species  abound  in  Russia 
among  the  higher  classes,  because  hearts  and  minds  are  the  prey 
of  exhaustion  and  satiety.  A  lady  of  high  rank  in  Petersburg 
has  been  married  several  times  :  she  passes  the  summer  in  a 
magnificent  country  house,  some  leagues  from  the  city,  and  her 
garden  is  filled  with  the  tombs  of  all  her  husbands,  whom  she 
begins  to  love  passionately  so  soon  as  they  are  dead.  She  raises 
for  them  mausolea  and  chapels,  weeps  over  their  ashes,  and  cov- 
ers their  tombs  with  sentimental  epitaphs  ;  in  short,  she  renders 
to  the  dead  an  honour  offensive  to  the  living.  The  pleasure- 
grounds  of  this  lady  have  thus  become  a  real  Pere  La  Chaise, 
with  very  little  gloom  about  them  for  whoever  has  not,  like  the 
noble  widow,  a  love  of  tombs  and  deceased  husbands. 

Nothing  need  surprise  us  in  the  way  of  false  sensitiveness 


NOCTURNAL    LESSONS    IN    ETIQUETTE.  433 

among  a  people  who  study  elegance  with  the  same  precise  minute- 
ness that  others  learn  the  art  of  war  or  of  government.  The  fol- 
lowing is  an  example  of  the  grave  interest  the  Russians  take  m 
the  most  puerile  matters  whenever  they  affect  them  personally. 

A  descendant  of  ancient  boyars,  who  was  rich  and  elderly, 
lived  in  the  country,  not  far  from  Moscow.  A  detachment  of 
hussars  was,  with  its  officers,  quartered  in  his  house.  It  was 
the  season  of  Easter,  which  the  Russians  celebrate  with  peculiar 
solemnity.  All  the  members  of  a  family  unite  with  their  friends 
and  neighbours,  to  attend  the  mass,  which,  on  this  festival,  is  of- 
fered precisely  at  midnight. 

The  proprietor  of  whom  I  speak,  being  the  most  considerable 
person  of  the  neighbourhood,  expected  a  large  assembly  of  guests 
on  Easter-eve,  more  especially  as  he  had,  that  year,  restored  and 
greatly  beautified  his  parish-church. 

Two  or  three  days  before  the  feast,  he  was  awakened  by  a 
procession  of  horses  and  carriages  passing  over  a  pier  that  led  to 
his  residence.  The  castle  is,  according  to  the  usual  custom,  sit- 
uated close  upon  the  edge  of  a  small  sheet  of  water ;  tho  church 
rises  on  the  opposite  side,  just  at  the  end  of  the  pier,  which  serves 
as  a  road  from  the  castle  to  the  village. 

Astonished  to  hear  so  unusual  a  noise  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  the  master  of  the  house  rose,  and,  to  his  great  surprise, 
saw  from  the  window,  by  the  light  of  numerous  torches,  a  beau- 
tiful caleche  drawn  by  four  horses  and  attended  by  outriders. 

He  quickly  recognized  this  new  equipage,  as  well  as  the  man 
to  whom  it  belonged  :  he  was  one  of  the  hussar  officers  lodged 
in  his  house,  an  individual  who  had  been  recently  enriched  by 
an  inheritance,  and  had  just  purchased  a  carriage  and  horses, 
which  had  been  brought  to  the  castle.  The  old  lord,  upon  see- 
ing him  parading  in  his  open  caliche,  all  alone,  by  night,  in  the 
midst  of  a  deserted  and  silent  country,  imagined  that  he  had  be- 
come mad  :  he  followed  with  his  eyes  the  elegant  procession, 
and  saw  it  advance  in  good  order  towards  the  church,  and  stop 
before  the  door  ;  where  the  owner  gravely  descended  from  the 
carriage,  aided  by  his  people,  who  crowded  round  to  support  the 
young  officer,  although  he,  appearing  quite  as  nimble  as  they, 
might  have  easily  dispensed  with  their  assistance. 

Scarcely  had  he  touched  the  ground,  when,  slowly  and  majes- 
tically, he  re-entered  his  coach,  took  another  turn  on  the  pier, 
and  came  back  again  to  the  church,  where  he  and  his  people  re- 
commenced the  previous  ceremony.  This  game  was  renewed 
until  daybreak.  At  the  last  repetition,  the  officer  gave  orders 
19 


434  GIPSIES    AT    THE    FAIR. 

to  return  to  the  castle  without  noise.  A  few  minutes  after,  all 
were  in  their  beds. 

In  the  morning,  the  first  question  that  the  wondering  owner 
of  the  house  put  to  his  guest,  the  captain  of  hussars,  was  as  to 
the  meaning  of  his  nocturnal  ride,  and  of  the  evolutions  of  his 
people  around  his  person.  "  0  !  nothing  !  "  replied  the  officer, 
without  the  least  embarrassment :  "  My  servants  are  novices  ; 
you  will  have  much  company  at  Easter  ;  people  are  coming  here 
from  every  quarter  ;  I  therefore  merely  thought  it  best  to  make 
a  rehearsal  of  my  entree  into  church." 

I  must  now  give  an  account  of  my  departure  from  Nijni, 
which,  it  will  be  seen,  was  less  brilliant  than  the  nocturnal  ride 
of  the  captain  of  hussars. 

On  the  evening  that  I  accompanied  the  governor  to  the  empty 
Russian  theatre,  I  met,  after  leaving  him,  an  acquaintance  who 
took  me  to  the  cafe  of  the  gipsies,  situated  in  the  most  lively 
part  of  the  fair  :  it  was  nearly  midnight,  but  this  house  was  still 
full  of  people,  noise,  and  light.  The  women  struck  me  as  being 
very  handsome  ;  their  costume,  although  in  appearance  the  same 
as  that  of  other  Russian  females,  takes  a  foreign  character  when 
worn  by  them  :  there  is  magic  in  their  glances,  and  their  features 
and  attitudes  are  graceful,  and  at  the  same  time  imposing.  In 
short,  they  resemble  the  sibyls  of  Michael  Angelo. 

Their  singing  is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  gipsies  at 
Moscow,  but,  if  anything,  I  thought  it  yet  more  expressive,  for- 
cible, and  varied.  I  am  assured  that  they  have  much  pride  of 
character,  that  they  have  warm  passions,  yet  are  neither  light 
nor  mercenary,  and  that  they  often  repel,  with  disdain,  very  ad- 
vantageous offers. 

The  more  I  see,  the  more  I  am  astonished  at  the  remains  of 
virtue  in  persons  who  are  not  virtuous.  Individuals  whose  state 
is  the  most  decried,  are  often,  like  nations  degraded  by  their 
governments,  full  of  great  qualities,  ill-understood;  whilst,  on 
the  contrary,  we  are  disagreeably  surprised  to  discern  weakness 
in  people  of  high  character,  and  a  puerile  disposition  in  nations 
said  to  be  well  governed.  The  conditions  of  human  virtues  are 
nearly  always  impenetrable  mysteries  to  the  mind  of  man. 

The  idea  of  rehabilitation,  which  I  here  only  vaguely  point 
out,  has  been  laid  open  and  defended,  with  all  the  power  of 
talent,  by  one  of  the  boldest  minds  of  our  own  or  any  epoch.  It 
seems  as  though  Victor  Hugo  had  sought  to  consecrate  his  the- 
atre to  revealing  to  the  world  all  that  remains  of  human,  that  is, 
of  divine,  in  the  souls  of  those  creatures  of  God  who  are  the  most 


MEDICAL    ADVICE.  435 

reprobated  by  society :  this  design  is  more  than  mortal,  it  is 
religious.  To  extend  the  sphere  of  pity  is  to  perform  a  pious 
work;  the  multitude  is  often  cruel  by  levity,  by  habit,  or  by 
principle,  but  yet  more  often  by  mistake.  To  cure,  if  it  be  pos- 
sible, the  wounds  of  hearts  ill-understood,  without  yet  more 
deeply  injuring  other  hearts  also  worthy  of  compassion,  is  to 
associate  ourselves  in  the  designs  of  Providence,  and  to  enlarge 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 

The  night  was  far  advanced  when  we  left  the  gipsies  :  stormy 
clouds,  which  swept  over  the  plain,  had  suddenly  changed  the 
temperature.  The  long,  deserted  streets  of  the  fair  were  filled 
with  ponds  of  water,  through  which  our  horses  dashed  without 
relaxing  their  speed ;  fresh  squalls,  bringing  over  black  clouds, 
announced  more  rain,  and  drove  the  water,  splashed  aside  by  the 
horses,  in  our  faces.  "  Summer  is  at  last  gone,"  said  my  cicerone. 
"  I  feel  you  are  only  too  right,"  I  answered ;  "  I  am  as  cold  as  if 
it  were  winter."  I  had  no  cloak ;  in  the  morning  we  had  been 
suffocated  with  the  heat ;  on  returning  to  my  room,  I  was  freezing. 
I  sat  down  to  write  for  two  hours,  and  then  retired  to  rest  in  the 
icy  fit  of  fever.  In  the  morning,  when  I  wished  to  get  up,  a 
vertigo  seized  me,  and  I  fell  again  on  my  couch,  unable  to  dress 
myself. 

This  annoyance  was  the  more  disagreeable,  as  I  had  intended 
leaving  on  that  very  day  for  Kazan :  I  wished  at  least  to  set  my 
foot  in  Asia ;  and  with  this  view  I  had  engaged  a  boat  to  descend 
the  Volga,  whilst  my  feldjager  had  been  directed  to  bring  my 
carriage  empty  to  Kazan,  to  convey  me  back  to  Nijni  by  land. 
However,  my  zeal  had  a  little  cooled  after  the  governor  of  Nijni 
had  proudly  displayed  to  me  plans  and  drawings  of  Kazan.  It  is 
still  the  same  city  from  one  end  of  Russia  to  another :  the  great 
square,  the  broad  streets,  bordered  with  diminutive  houses,  the 
house  of  the  governor,  with  ornamented  pillars  and  a  pediment ; 
decorations  even  yet  more  out  of  place  in  a  Tartar  than  in  a 
Russian  town;  barracks,  cathedrals  in  the  style  of  temples; 
nothing,  in  short  was  wanting;  and  I  felt  that  the  whole  tiresome 
architectural  repetition  was  not  worth  the  trouble  of  prolonging 
my  journey  two  hundred  leagues  in  order  to  visit.  But  the 
frontiers  of  Siberia  and  the  recollections  of  the  siege  still  tempt- 
ed me.  It  became  necessary,  however,  to  renounce  the  journey, 
and  to  keep  quiet  for  four  days. 

The  governor  very  politely  came  to  see  me  in  my  humble 
bed.  At  last,  on  the  fourth  day,  feeling  my  indisposition  in- 
crease, I  determined  to  call  in  a  doctor.  This  individual  said 
to  me, — 


436  RUSSIAN    IDEA    OF    FREE    GOVERNMENTS. 

"  You  have  no  fever,  you  are  not  yet  ill,  but  you  will  be 
seriously  so  if  you  remain  three  days  longer  at  Nijni.  I  know 
the  influence  of  this  air  upon  certain  temperaments ;  leave  it ; 
you  will  not  have  travelled  ten  leagues  without  finding  yourself 
better,  and  the  day  after  you  will  be  well  again." 

"  But  I  can  neither  eat,  sleep,  walk,  nor  even  move  without 
feeling  severe  pains  in  my  head :  what  will  become  of  me  if  I  am 
obliged  to  stop  on  the  road  ?" 

"  Cause  yourself  to  be  carried  into  your  coach  :  the  autumn 
rains  have  commenced  :  I  repeat,  that  I  cannot  answer  for  your 
recovery  if  you  remain  at  Nijni." 

This  doctor  is  scientific  and  experienced  :  he  has  passed  seve- 
ral years  at  Paris,  after  having  previously  studied  in  Germany. 
His  look  inspired  me  with  confidence;  and  the  day  after  I  re- 
ceived his  advice  I  entered  my  carriage,  in  the  midst  of  a  beating 
rain  accompanied  by  an  icy  wind.  It  was  unpleasant  enough  to 
discourage  the  strongest  traveller :  nevertheless,  at  the  second 
stage,  the  prediction  of  the  doctor  was  fulfilled;  I  began  to 
breathe  more  freely,  though  fatigue  so  overpowered  me  that  I 
was  obliged  to  stop  and  pass  the  night  in  a  miserable  lodging : 
the  next  day  I  was  again  in  health. 

During  the  time  spent  in  my  bed  at  Nijni,  my  guardian  spy 
grew  tired  of  our  prolonged  stay  at  the  fair,  and  of  his  conse- 
quent inaction.  One  morning  he  came  to  my  valet-de-chambre, 
and  said  to  him,  in  German,  "  When  do  we  leave  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  tell;  Monsieur  is  ill." 

"  7s  he  ill  ?  " 

"  Do  you  suppose  that  it  is  to  please  himself  that  he  keeps 
his  bed  in  such  a  room  as  you  found  for  him  here  ?  " 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  him  ? 

"I  do  not  know  at  all." 

"  Why  is  he  ill  ?  " 

"  Good  heavens  !  you  had  better  go  and  ask  him." 

This  why  appears  to  me  worthy  of  being  noted. 

The  man  has  never  forgiven  me  the  scene  in  the  coach. 
Since  that  day,  his  manners  and  his  countenance  have  changed, 
which  proves  to  me  that  there  always  remains  some  corner  for 
the  natural  disposition,  and  for  sincerity  in  even  the  most  pro- 
foundly-dissimulating characters.  I  therefore  think  all  the  better 
of  him  for  his  rancour :  I  had  believed  him  incapable  of  any  pri- 
mitive sentiment. 

The  Russians,  like  all  new  comers  in  the  civilised  world,  are 
excessively  susceptible;  they  cannot  understand  generalities; 


VLADIMIR.  437 

they  view  everything  as  applied  personally .  nowhere  is  France 
so  ill  understood.  The  liberty  of  thinking  and  speaking  is  more 
incomprehensible  than  any  thing  else  to  these  people.  Those 
who  pretend  to  judge  our  country,  say  to  me,  that  they  do  not 
really  believe  our  king  abstains  from  punishing  the  writers  who 
daily  abuse  him  in  Paris. 

"  Nevertheless,"  I  answer  them,  "  the  fact  is  there  to  con- 
vince you." 

"  Yes,  yes,  you  talk  of  toleration,"  they  reply,  with  a  know- 
ing air;  "  it  is  all  very  well  for  the  multitude  and  for  foreigners: 
but  your  government  punishes  secretly  the  too  audacious  journal- 
ists." 

When  I  repeat  that  every  thing  is  public  in  France,  they 
laugh  sneeringly,  politely  check  themselves;  but  they  do  not 
believe  me 

The  city  of  Vladimir  is  often  mentioned  in  history :  its  as- 
pect is  like  all  the  other  Russian  cities — that  eternal  type  with 
which  the  reader  is  only  too  familiar.  The  country,  also,  that  I 
have  travelled  over  from  Nijni  resembles  the  rest  of  Russia — a 
forest  without  trees,  interrupted  by  towns  without  life — barracks, 
raised  sometimes  upon  heaths,  sometimes  upon  marshes,  and  the 
spirit  of  a  regiment  to  animate  them.  When  I  tell  the  Russians 
that  their  woods  are  badly  managed,  and  that  their  country  will 
in  time  be  without  fuel,  they  laugh  in  my  face.  It  has  been  cal- 
culated how  many  thousands  of  years  it  will  require  to  consume 
the  wood  which  covers  the  soil  of  an  immense  portion  of  the  em- 
pire ;  and  this  calculation  satisfies  every  body.  It  is  written  in 
the  estimates  sent  in  by  each  provincial  governor,  that  each  pro- 
vince contains  so  many  acres  of  forests.  Upon  these  data  the 
statistical  department  goes  to  work;  but  before  performing  their 
purely  arithmetical  labour  of  adding  sums  to  make  a  total,  the 
calculators  do  not  think  of  visiting  these  forests  upon  paper.  If 
they  did,  they  would  in  most  cases  find  a  few  thickets  of  brush- 
wood, amid  plains  of  fern  and  rushes.  But  with  their  written 
satisfactory  reports,  the  Russians  trouble  themselves  very  little 
about  the  real  scarcity  of  the  only  riches  proper  to  their  soil. 
Their  woods  are  immense  in  the  bureau  of  the  minister,  and  this 
is  sufficient  for  them.  The  day  may  be  foreseen  when,  as  a  con- 
sequence of  this  administrative  supineness  and  security,  the  peo- 
ple will  warm  themselves  by  the  fires  made  of  the  old  dusty 
papers  accumulated  in  the  public  offices:  these  riches  increase 
daily. 

My  words  may  appear  bold  and  even  revolting ;  for  the  sen- 


438  FAL8E   DELICACY. 

sitive  self-love  of  the  Russians  imposes  upon  foreigners  duties  of 
delicacy  and  propriety  to  which  I  do  not  submit.  My  sincerity 
will  render  me  culpable  in  the  eyes  of  the  men  of  this  country. 
What  ingratitude  !  the  minister  gives  me  a  feldjager ;  the  pre- 
sence of  his  uniform  spares  me  all  the  difficulties  of  the  journey  ; 
and  therefore  am  I  bound,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Russians,  to 
approve  of  every  thing  with  them.  That  foreigner,  they  think, 
would  outrage  all  the  laws  of  hospitality  if  he  permitted  himself 
to  criticise  a  country  where  so  much  regard  has  been  shown 
towards  him.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  I  hold  myself  free  to 
describe  what  I  see,  and  to  pass  my  opinion  upon  it. 

To  appreciate,  as  I  ought  to  do,  the  favor  accorded  me  by  the 
director-general  of  the  posts  in  furnishing  me  with  a  courier,  it 
will  at  least  be  right  to  state  the  discomforts  which  his  obliging 
civility  has  spared  me.  Had  I  set  out  for  Nijni  with  a  common 
servant  only,  we  should,  however  well  he  might  have  spoken 
Russian,  have  been  delayed  by  the  tricks  and  frauds  of  the  post- 
masters at  nearly  every  stage.  They  would  at  first  have  refused 
us  horses,  and  then  have  showed  us  empty  stables  to  convince  us 
there  were  none.  After  an  hour's  parley,  they  would  have  found 
us  a  set  that  they  would  pretend  belonged  to  some  peasant,  who 
would  condescend  to  spare  them  for  twice  or  thrice  the  charge 
established  by  the  imperial  post-regulations.  We  might  at  first 
have  refused ;  the  horses  would  have  been  taken  away  :  till  at 
last,  tired  of  the  war,  we  should  have  concluded  by  humbly  im- 
ploring the  return  of  the  animals,  and  by  complying  with  every 
demand.  The  same  scene  would  have  been  renewed  at  each  out- 
of-the-way  post.  This  is  the  manner  in  which  inexperienced  and 
unprotected  foreigners  here  travel. 

The  Russians  are  always  on  their  guard  against  truth,  which 
they  dread ;  but  I,  who  belong  to  a  community  where  every  thing 
is  transacted  openly,  why  should  I  embarrass  myself  with  the 
scruples  of  these  men,  who  say  nothing,  or  merely  darkly  whisper 
unmeaning  phrases,  and  beg  their  neighbours  to  keep  them  a 
secret  ?  Every  open  and  clearly  defined  statement  causes  a  stir 
in  a  country  where  not  only  the  expression  of  opinions,  but  also 
the  recital  of 'the  most  undoubted  facts,  is  forbidden.  A  French- 
man cannot  imitate  this  absurdity ;  but  he  ought  to  note  it. 

Russia  is  governed ;  God  knows  when  she  will  be  civilised. 

Putting  no  faith  in  persuasion,  the  monarch  draws  every  thing 
to  himself,  under  pretext  that  a  rigorous  system  of  centralisation 
is  indispensable  to  the  government  of  an  empire  so  prodigiously 
extended  as  Russia.  That  system  is  perhaps  necessary  to  the 


RENCONTRE  WITH  AN  ELEPHANT.  439 

principle  of  blind  obedience  :  but  enlightened  obedience  is  op- 
posed to  the  false  idea  of  simplification  which  has  for  more  than 
a  century  influenced  the  successors  of  the  Czar  Peter,  and  their 
successors  also.  Simplification,  carried  to  this  excess,  is  not 
power,  it  is  death.  Absolute  authority  ceases  to  be  real,  it  be- 
comes a  phantom,  when  it  has  only  the  images  of  men  to  exercise 
itself  upon. 

Russia  will  never  really  become  a  nation  until  the  day  when 
its  prince  shall  voluntarily  repair  the  evil  committed  by  Peter  I. 
But  will  there  ever  be  found,  in  such  a  country,  a  sovereign 
courageous  enough  to  admit  that  he  is  only  a  man  ? 

It  is  necessary  to  see  Russia,  to  appreciate  all  the  difficulty 
of  this  political  reformation,  and  to  understand  the  energy  of  cha- 
racter that  is  necessary  to  work  it. 


I  am  now  writing  at  a  post-house  between  Vladimir  and  Mos- 
cow. 

Among  all  the  chances  and  accidents  by  which  a  traveller  is 
in  danger  of  losing  his  life  on  a  Russian  high  road,  the  imagination 
of  the  reader  would  be  at  fault  to  single  out  the  one  by  which  my 
life  has  been  just  menaced.  The  danger  was  so  great,  that  with- 
out the  address,  the  strength,  and  the  presence  of  mind  of  my 
Italian  servant,  I  should  not  be  the  writer  of  the  following  ac- 
count : — 

It  was  necessary  that  the  Schah  of  Persia  should  have  an  ob- 
ject in  conciliating  the  friendship  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  and 
that  with  this  view,  building  his  expectations  upon  bulky  pre- 
sents he  should  send  to  the  Czar  one  of  the  most  enormous  black 
elephants  of  Asia,  clothed  with  superb  hangings,  which  served  as 
a  caparison  for  the  colossus,  escorted  by  a  cortege  of  horsemen, 
resembling  a  cloud  of  grasshoppers,  followed  by  a  file  of  camels, 
which  appeared  no  larger  than  donkeys  by  the  side  of  this  elephant, 
the  most  enormous  that  I  have  ever  beheld,  and  surmounted  by  a 
man  with  olive  complexion  and  oriental  costume,  carrying  a  para- 
sol, and  sitting  cross-legged  upon  the  back  of  the  monster  ;  it  was 
further  necessary,  that  whilst  this  living  monument  was  thus  for- 
ced to  journey  on  foot  towards  Petersburg,  where  the  climate  will 
soon  transfer  him  to  the  collection  of  the  mammoths  and  the  mas- 
todons, I  should  be  travelling  post  by  the  same  route  ;  and  that 
my  departure  from  Vladimir  should  so  coincide  with  that  of  the 
Persians,  that,  at  a  certain  part  of  the  deserted  road,  the  gallop 


440  AN    ACCIDENT. 

of  my  Russian  horses  should  bring  me  behind  them,  and  make  it 
necessary  to  pass  by  the  side  of  the  giant; — it  required  nothing 
less,  I  say,  than  these  combined  circumstances  to  explain  the  dan- 
ger caused  by  the  terror  that  seized  my  four  horses,  on  seeing  be- 
fore them  an  animated  pyramid,  moving  as  if  by  magic  in  the 
midst  of  a  crowd  of  strange-looking  men  and  beasts. 

Their  astonishment  as  they  approached  the  walking  tower 
was  at  first  shown  by  a  general  start  aside,  by  extraordinary 
neighings  and  snortings,  and  by  refusing  to  proceed.  But  the 
words  and  the  whip  of  the  coachman  at  length  so  far  mastered 
them  as  to  compel  them  to  pass  the  fantastic  object  of  their  terror. 
They  submitted  trembling,  their  manes  stood  erect,  and  scarcely 
were  they  alongside  of  the  monster  when,  reproaching  themselves 
as  it  were  for  a  courage,  which  was  nothing  more  than  fear  of 
another  object,  they  yielded  to  their  panic,  and  the  voice  and  the 
reins  of  the  driver  became  useless.  The  man  was  conquered  at 
the  moment  when  he  thought  himself  the  conqueror  :  scarcely 
had  the  horses  felt  that  the  elephant  was  behind  them,  when 
they  dashed  off  at  full  speed,  heedless  as  to  where  their  blind 
frenzy  might  carry  them.  This  furious  course  had  very  nearly 
cost  us  our  lives :  the  coachman,  bewildered  and  powerless,  re- 
mained immovable  on  his  seat,  and  slackened  the  reins  ;  the 
feldjager,  placed  beside  him,  partook  of  his  stupefaction  and 
helplessness.  Antonio  and  I,  seated  within  the  caliche,  which 
was  closed  on  account  of  the  weather  and  my  ailment,  remained 
pale  and  mute  :  our  species  of  tarandasse  has  no  doors ;  it  is  a 
boat,  over  the  sides  of  which  we  have  to  step  to  get  in  and  out. 
On  a  sudden,  the  maddened  horses  swerved  from  the  road,  and 
dashed  at  an  almost  perpendicular  bank,  about  ten  feet  high : 
one  of  the  small  fore-wheels  was  already  buried  in  the  bank-side; 
two  of  the  horses  had  reached  the  top  without  breaking  their 
traces ;  I  saw  their  feet  on  a  level  with  our  heads ;  one  strain 
more,  and  the  coach  would  have  followed,  but  certainly  not  upon 
its  wheels.  I  thought  that  it  was  all  over  with  us.  The  Cossacks 
who  escorted  the  puissant  cause  of  this  peril,  seeing  our  critical 
position,  had  the  prudence  to  avoid  following  us,  for  fear  of  fur- 
ther exciting  our  horses :  I,  without  even  thinking  of  springing 
from  the  carriage,  had  commended  my  soul  to  God,  when,  sud- 
denly, Antonio  disappeared.  I  thought  he  was  killed  :  the  head 
and  leather  curtains  of  the  caleche  partly  concealed  the  scene 
from  me  ;  but  at  the  same  moment  I  felt  the  horses  stop.  "  We 
are  saved!"  cried  Antonio.  This  we  touched  me,  for  he  himself 
was  beyond  all  danger,  after  having  succeeded  in  getting  out  of 


RETURN   TO    MOSCOW.  441 

the  caleche  without  accident.  His  rare  presence  of  mind  had  in- 
dicated to  him  the  moment  favourable  to  springing  out  with  the 
least  risk :  afterwards,  with  that  agility  which  strong  emotions 
impart,  but  which  they  cannot  explain,  he  found  himself,  without 
knowing  how,  upon  the  top  of  the  bank,  at  the  head  of  the  two 
horses  which  had  scaled  it,  and  the  desperate  efforts  of  which 
threatened  to  destroy  us  all.  The  carriage  was  just  about  to 
overturn ;  but  Antonio's  activity  gave  time  to  the  others  to  fol- 
low his  example  ;  the  coachman  was  in  a  moment  at  the  heads  of 
the  two  other  horses,  while  the  courier  propped  up  the  coach. 
At  the  same  moment,  the  Cossack-guard  of  the  elephant,  who  had 
put  their  horses  to  a  gallop,  arrived  to  our  assistance ;  they  made 
me  alight,  and  helped  my  people  to  hold  the  still  trembling 
horses.  Never  was  an  accident  more  nearly  being  disastrous, 
and  never  was  one  repaired  at  less  cost.  Not  a  screw  of  the 
coach  was  disturbed,  and  scarcely  a  strap  of  harness  broken. 

At  the  expiration  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  Antonio  was  seated 
quietly  by  my  side  in  the  caleche ;  in  another  ten  minutes  he 
was  as  fast  asleep  as  if  he  had  not  been  the  means  of  saving  all 
our  lives. 

While  they  put  the  harness  in  order,  I  approached  the  cause 
of  all  this  mischief.  The  groom  of  the  elephant  had  prudently 
led  him  into  the  wood  adjoining  one  of  the  side-alleys  of  the  road. 
The  formidable  beast  appeared  to  me  yet  larger  after  the  peril  to 
which  he  had  exposed  me.  His  trunk,  busy  in  the  top  of  the 
birch-trees,  reminded  me  of  a  boa  twisted  among  the  palms.  I 
began  to  make  excuses  for  my  horses,  and  left  him,  giving  thanks 
to  God  for  having  escaped  a  death  which  at  one  moment  appeared 
to  me  inevitable. 


I  am  now  again  at  Moscow.  An  excessive  heat  has  not 
ceased  to  reign  there  for  several  months ;  I  find  the  same  tem- 
perature that  I  left :  the  summer  is  indeed  quite  extraordinary. 
The  drought  sends  up  into  the  air,  above  the  most  populous 
quarters  of  the  city,  a  reddish  dust,  which,  towards  evening,  pro- 
duces effects  as  fantastical  as  the  Bengal  lights.  This  evening, 
at  sunset,  I  contemplated  the  spectacle  from  the  Kremlin,  the 
survey  of  which  I  have  made  with  as  much  admiration,  and  al- 
most as  much  surprise,  as  I  did  at  first. 

The  city  of  men  was  separated  from  the  palace  of  giants,  by  a 


442  A  FAREWELL  TO  THE  KREMLIN. 

glory  like  one  of  Correggio's :  the  whole  was  a  sublime  union  of 
the  marvels  of  painting  and  poetry. 

The  Kremlin,  as  the  loftiest  point  in  the  picture,  received  on 
its  breast  the  last  streaks  of  day,  while  the  mists  of  night  had 
already  enveloped  the  rest  of  the  city.  The  imagination  owned 
no  bounds ;  the  universe,  the  infinite  Deity  itself,  seemed  to  be 
grasped  by  the  witness  of  the  majestic  spectacle.  It  was  the  living 
model  of  Martin's  most  extraordinary  paintings.  My  heart  beat 
with  awe  and  admiration  :  I  saw  the  whole  cohort  of  the  super- 
natural inmates  of  the  fortress ;  their  forms  shone  like  demons 
painted  on  a  ground  of  gold  ;  they  moved  glittering  towards  the 
regions  of  night,  from  which  they  seemed  about  to  tear  off  the 
veil;  I  expected  to  hear  the  thunder:  the  scene  was  fearfully 
beautiful. 

The  white  and  irregular  masses  of  the  palace  reflected  un- 
equally the  obliquely-borne  beams  of  a  flickering  twilight.  This 
variety  of  shades  was  the  effect  of  the  different  degrees  of  incli- 
nation of  different  walls,  and  of  the  projections  and  recesses  which 
constitute  the  beauty  of  the  barbaric  architecture,  whose  bold 
caprices,  if  they  do  not  charm  the  taste,  speak  impressively  to  the 
imagination.  It  was  so  astonishing,  so  beautiful,  that  I  have  not 
been  able  to  resist  once  more  naming  the  Kremlin. 

But  let  not  the  reader  be  alarmed — this  is  an  adieu. 

The  plaintive  song  of  some  workmen,  echoing  from  vault  to 
vault,  from  battlement  to  battlement,  from  precipice  to  precipice 
— precipices  built  by  man — penetrated  to  my  heart,  which  was 
absorbed  in  inexpressible  melancholy.  Wandering  lights  appeared 
in  the  depths  of  the  royal  edifice ;  and  along  the  deserted  galleries 
and  empty  barbicans,  came  the  voice  of  man,  which  I  was  aston- 
ished to  hear  at  that  hour  among  these  solitary  palaces  ;  as  was 
likewise  the  bird  of  night,  who,  disturbed  in  his  mysterious  loves, 
fled  from  the  light  of  the  torches,  and,  seeking  refuge  among  the 
highest  steeples  and  towers,  there  spread  the  news  of  the  unusual 
disorder. 

That  disorder  was  the  consequence  of  the  works  commanded 
by  the  Emperor  to  welcome  his  own  approaching  arrival :  he  fetes 
himself,  and  illuminates  his  Kremlin  when  he  comes  to  Moscow. 
Meantime,  as  the  darkness  increased,  the  city  brightened :  its 
illuminated  streets,  shops,  coffee-houses,  and  theatres,  rose  out  of 
the  dark  like  magic.  The  day  was  also  the  anniversary  of  the 
Emperor's  coronation — another  motive  for  illuminating.  The 
Russians  have  so  many  joyful  days  to  celebrate,  that,  were  I  in 
their  place,  I  should  never  put  out  my  lamps. 

The  approach  of  the  magician  has  already  begun  to  be  felt. 


443 

Three  weeks  ago  Moscow  was  only  inhabitated  by  merchants,  who 
proceeded  about  their  business  in  droshkis  :  now,  noble  coursers, 
splendid  equipages,  gilded  uniforms,  great  lords,  and  numerous 
valets,  enliven  the  streets  and  obstruct  the  porticoes.  "  The 
Emperor  is  thirty  leagues  off;  who  knows  if  he  will  not  be  here 
to-morrow,  or  perhaps  to-night  ?  It  is  said  he  was  here  yesterday 
incognito  :  who  can  prove  that  he  is  not  here  now  ?  "  And  this 
doubt,  this  hope,  animates  all  hearts ;  it  changes  the  face  and 
language  of  all  persons,  and  the  aspect  of  every  thing.  Moscow, 
the  merchant-city,  is  now  as  much  troubled  and  agitated  as  a 
citizen's  wife  expecting  the  visit  of  a  great  nobleman.  Deserted 
palaces  and  gardens  are  re-opened ;  flowers  and  torches  vie  with 
each  other  in  brilliancy;  flattering  speeches  begin  to  murmur 
through  the  crowd  :  I  fear  lest  I  myself  should  catch  the  influence 
of  the  illusion,  if  not  through  selfish  motives,  at  least  from  a  love 
of  the  marvellous. 

An  Emperor  of  Russia  at  Moscow,  is  a  king  of  Assyria  in 
Babylon. 

His  presence  is  at  this  moment,  they  say,  working  miracles  at 
Borodino.  An  entire  city  is  there  created — a  city  just  sprung 
out  of  the  desert,  and  destined  to  endure  for  a  week ;  even  gardens 
have  been  planted  there  round  a  palace ;  the  trees,  destined  soon 
to  die,  have  been  brought  from  a  distance  at  great  expense,  and 
are  so  placed  as  to  represent  antique  shades.  The  Russians, 
though  they  have  no  past,  are,  like  all  enlightened  parvenus,  who 
well  know  what  is  thought  of  their  sudden  fortunes,  more  parti- 
cularly fond  of  imitating  the  effects  of  time.  In  this  scene  of 
fairy  work,  all  that  speaks  of  duration  is  imitated  by  things  the 
most  ephemeral.  Several  theatres  are  also  raised  on  the  plain  of 
Borodino ;  and  the  drama  serves  as  an  interlude  between  the  war- 
like pantomimes. 

The  programme  of  the  fete  is  the  exact  repetition  of  the  battle 
which  we  called  Moskowa,  and  which  the  Russians  have  chris- 
tened Borodino.  Wishing  to  approach  as  nearly  as  possible  to 
the  reality,  they  have  convoked  from  the  most  distant  parts  of 
the  empire,  all  the  surviving  veterans  of  1812  who  were  in  the 
action.  The  reader  may  imagine  the  astonishment  and  distress 
of  these  brave  men,  suddenly  torn  from  their  repose,  and  obliged 
to  repair  from  the  extremities  of  Siberia,  Kamtschatka,  Lapland, 
the  Caspian,  or  the  Caucasus,  to  a  theatre  which  they  are  told 
was  the  theatre  of  their  glory — not  their  fortune,  but  their  re- 
nown, a  miserable  recompense  for  a  superhuman  devotion.  Why 
revive  these  questions  and  recollections  ?  Why  this  bold  evoca- 
tion of  so  many  mute  and  forgotten  spectres?  It  is  the  last 


444  MILITARY   FETE    AT   BORODINO. 

judgment  of  the  conscripts  of  1812.  If  they  wished  to  make  a 
satire  upon  military  life,  they  could  not  take  a  better  course  ;  it 
was  thus  that  Holbein,  in  his  Dance  of  Death,  caricatured  human 
life.  Numbers  of  these  men,  awakened  out  of  their  sleep  on  the 
brink  of  their  graves,  have  not  mounted  a  horse  for  many  years ; 
and  here  they  are  obliged,  in  order  to  please  a  master  whom  they 
have  never  seen,  again  to  play  over  their  long-forgotten  parts. 
They  have  so  much  dread  of  not  satisfying  the  expectations  of  the 
capricious  sovereign  who  thus  troubles  their  old  age,  that  they  say 
the  representation  of  the  battle  is  more  terrible  to  them  than  was 
the  reality.  This  useless  ceremony,  this  fanciful  war,  will  make 
an  end  of  the  soldiers  whom  the  real  event  spared :  it  is  a  cruel 
pleasure,  worthy  of  one  of  the  successors  of  the  Czar  who  caused 
living  bears  to  be  introduced  in  the  masquerade  that  he  gave  on 
the  nuptials  of  his  buffoon :  that  Czar  was  Peter  the  Great.  All 
these  diversions  have  their  source  in  the  same  feeling — contempt 
for  human  life. 

The  Emperor  had  permitted  me — which  means  to  say  that  he 
commanded  me — to  be  present  at  Borodino.  It  is  a  favour  of 
which  I  feel  myself  to  have  become  unworthy.  I  did  not  at  the 
time  reflect  upon  the  extreme  difficulty  of  the  part  a  French- 
man would  have  to  perform  in  this  historical  drama  :  and  I  also 
had  not  seen  the  monstrous  work  of  the  Kremlin,  which  he  would 
expect  me  to  praise ;  above  all,  I  was  then  ignorant  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Princess  Troubetzkoi',  which  I  have  the  greater  diffi- 
culty in  banishing  from  my  mind,  because  I  may  not  speak  of  it. 
Theso  reasons  united  have  induced  me  to  decide  upon  remaining 
in  oblivion.  It  is  an  easy  resolve ;  for  the  contrary  would  give 
me  trouble,  if  I  may  judge  by  the  useless  efforts  of  a  crowd  of 
Frenchmen  and  foreigners  of  all  countries,  who  in  vain  solicit 
permission  to  be  present  at  Borodino. 

All  at  once  the  police  of  the  camp  has  assumed  extreme  seve- 
rity ;  these  new  precautions  are  attributed  to  unpleasant  revela- 
tions that  have  been  recently  made.  The  sparks  of  revolt  are 
every  where  feeding  under  the  ashes  of  liberty.  I  do  not  know 
even  whether,  under  actual  circumstances,  it  would  be  possible 
for  me  to  avail  myself  of  the  invitation  the  Emperor  gave  me, 
both  at  Petersburg,  and  afterwards  when  I  took  leave  of  him,  at 
Peterhoff.  "  I  shall  be  very  glad  if  you  will  attend  the  ceremony 
at  Borodino,  where  we  lay  the  first  stone  of  a  monument  in  ho- 
nour of  General  Bagration."  These  were  his  last  words.* 

^  *  I  learnt  afterwards,  at  Petersburg,  that  orders  had  been  given  to  per 
mit  my  reaching  Borodino,  where  I  was  expected. 


PRINCE    WITTGENSTEIN.  445 

I  see  here  persons  who  were  invited,  yet  are  not  able  to  ap- 
proach the  camp.  Permissions  are  refused  to  every  body  except 
a  few  privileged  Englishmen  and  some  members  of  the  diploma- 
tic corps.  All  the  rest,  young  and  old,  military  men  and  diplo- 
matists, foreigners  and  Russians,  have  returned  to  Moscow, 
mortified  by  their  unavailing  efforts.  I  have  written  to  a  person 
connected  with  the  Emperor's  household,  regretting  my  inability 
to  avail  myself  of  the  favour  His  Majesty  had  accorded  in  per- 
mitting me  to  witness  the  manoeuvres,  and  pleading  as  an  excuse 
the  state  of  my  eyes,  which  are  not  yet  cured.  The  dust  of  the 
camp  is,  I  am  told,  insupportable  to  every  body ;  to  me  it  might 
cost  the  loss  of  sight. 

The  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg  must  be  endowed  with  an  unusual 
quantum  of  indifference  to  be  able  coolly  to  witness  the  spectacle 
prepared  for  him.  They  assure  me  that,  in  the  representation  of 
the  battle,  the  Emperor  will  command  the  corps  of  Prince  Eu- 
gene, father  of  the  young  duke. 

I  should  regret  not  seeing  a  spectacle  so  curious  in  its  moral 
aspect,  if  I  could  be  present  as  a  disinterested  spectator ;  but, 
without  having  the  renown  of  a  father  to  maintain,  I  am  a  son  of 
France,  and  I  feel  it  is  not  for  me  to  find  any  pleasure  in  wit- 
nessing a  representation  of  war,  made  at  great  cost,  solely  with 
the  view  of  exalting  the  national  pride  of  the  Russians,  on  the 
occasion  of  our  disasters.  As  to  the  sight  itself,  I  can  picture  it 
very  easily ;  I  have  seen  plenty  of  straight  lines  in  Russia. 
Besides,  in  reviews  and  mock  fights,  the  eye  never  gets  beyond  a 
great  cloud  of  dust. 

The  Russians  have  reason  to  pride  themselves  on  the  issue  of 
the  campaign  of  1812;  but  the  general  who  laid  its  plan,  he  who 
first  advised  the  gradual  retreat  of  the  Russian  army  towards  the 
centre  of  the  empire,  with  the  view  of  enticing  the  exhausted 
French  after  it, — the  man,  in  fact,  to  whose  genius  Russia  owed 
her  deliverance — Prince  Wittgenstein,  is  not  represented  in  this 
grand  repetition  ;  because,  unfortunately  for  him,  he  is  yet  living  ; 
half  disgraced,  he  resides  on  his  estates ;  his  name  will  not  be 
pronounced  at  Borodino,  though  an  eternal  monument  is  to  be 
raised  to  the  glory  of  General  Bagration,  who  fell  on  the  field 
of  battle. 

Under  despotic  governments  dead  warriors  are  great  favourites : 
here,  behold  one  decreed  to  be  the  hero  of  a  campaign  in  which 
he  bravely  fell,  but  which  he  never  directed. 

This  absence  of  historical  probity,  this  abuse  of  the  will  of  one 
man,  who  imposes  his  will  upon  all,  who  dictates  to  the  people 


446  ARREST    OF    M.   FERNET. 

whatever  they  are  to  think  on  events  of  national  interest,  appears 
to  me  the  most  revolting  of  all  the  impieties  of  arbitrary  govern- 
ment. Strike,  torture  bodies,  but  do  not  crush  minds :  let  man 
judge  of  things  according  to  the  intimations  of  Providence, 
according  to  his  conscience  and  his  reason.  The  people  must  be 
called  impious  who  devoutly  submit  to  this  continual  violation  of 
the  respect  due  to  all  that  is  most  holy  in  the  sight  of  God  and 
man, — the  sanctity  of  truth. 

Without  waiting  for  the  solemn  entry  of  the  Emperor  into 
Moscow,  I  shall  leave  in  two  days'  time  for  Petersburg. 


Here  ends  the  chapters  that  were  written  by  the  traveller  in 
the  form  of  letters  to  his  friends ;  the  relation  which  follows 
completes  his  recollections  ;  it  was  written  at  various  places,  com- 
mencing at  Petersburg,  in  1839,  and  afterwards  continued  in 
Germany,  and  more  recently  at  Paris. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

Return  from  Moscow  to  Petersburg.— History  of  M.  Pernet,  a  French  Prisoner  in  Russia.— 
His  Arrest.— Conduct  of  his  Fellow  Traveller.— The  French  Consul  at  Moscow.— Effects 
of  Imagination. —Advice  of  a  Russian.— Great  Novgorod.— Souvenirs  of  Ivan  IV.— Arrival 
at  Petersburg.— M.  de  Barnate. — Sequel  of  the  History  of  M.  Pernet.— Interior  of  a  Mos- 
cow Prison. — A  Visit  to  Colpina.— Origin  of  the  Laval  Family  of  Russia  —The  Academy 
of  Painting.— The  Arts  in  Russia  — M.  Brulow.— Influence  of  the  North  upon  the  Arts. — 
Mademoiselle  Taglioni  at  Petersburg. — Abolition  of  the  Uniates.— Superiorly  of  a  repre- 
sentative form  of  Government. — Departure  from  Russia. — The  Feelings  of  the  Author. — 
A  sincere  Letter.—  Seasons  for  not  returning  through  Poland. 

AT  the  moment  I  was  about  to  quit  Moscow,  a  singular  circum- 
stance attracted  all  my  attention,  and  obliged  me  to  delay  my 
departure. 

I  had  ordered  post-horses  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  :  to 
my  great  surprise  my  valet-de-chambre  awoke  me  at  four,  and  on 
my  asking  the  cause  of  this  unnecessary  hurry,  he  answered  that 
he  did  not  like  to  delay  informing  me  of  a  fact  which  he  had  just 
learnt,  and  which  appeared  to  him  very  serious.  The  following 
is  the  gist  of  what  he  related. 

A  Frenchman,  whose  name  is  M.  Louis  Pernet,  and  who  arrived 
a  few  days  ago  in  Moscow,  where  he  lodged  at  a  public  hotel,  has 
been  arrested  in  the  middle  of  the  night — this  very  night, — and, 


CONDUCT    OF    HIS    FELLOW   TRAVELLER.  44*7 

after  being  deprived  of  his  papers,  has  been  taken  to  the  city 
prison,  and  there  placed  in  a  cell.  Such  was  the  account  which 
the  waiter  at  our  inn  gave  to  my  servant,  who,  after  many  ques- 
tions, further  learned  that  M.  Fernet  was  a  young  man  about 
twenty-six  years  old,  and  of  feeble  frame  ;  that  he  passed  through 
Moscow  last  year,  when  he  stayed  at  the  house  of  a  Russian  friend, 
who  afterwards  took  him  into  the  country.  This  Russian  was 
now  absent,  and  the  unfortunate  prisoner  had  no  other  acquaint- 
ance in  Moscow  except  another  Frenchman,  a  M.  R ,  in  whose 

company  he  had  been  travelling  from  the  north  of  Russia.     M. 

R lodged  in  the  same  hotel  with  the  prisoner.     His  name 

struck  me  the  moment  I  heard  it,  for  it  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
dark  man  with  whom  I  dined  a  few  days  before  at  the  house  of 
the  governor  of  Nijni.  The  reader  may  recollect  that  his  physi- 
ognomy had  been  to  me  a  subject  of  meditation.  Again  to 
stumble  upon  this  personage,  in  connection  with  the  event  of  the 
night,  appeared  to  me  quite  a  circumstance  for  a  novel,  and  I 
could  scarcely  believe  what  I  heard  :  nevertheless,  I  immediately 
rose,  and  sought  the  waiter  myself,  to  hear  from  his  own  lips  the 
version  of  the  story,  and  to  ascertain  beyond  doubt  the  correctness 
of  the  name  of  M.  R  ,  whose  identity  I  was  particularly 
desirous  of  ascertaining.  The  waiter  told  me,  that  having  been 
sent  on  an  errand  by  a  foreigner  about  to  leave  Moscow,  he  was 
at  Kopp's  hotel  at  the  moment  when  the  police  left  it,  and  he 
added  that  M.  Kopp  had  related  to  him  the  affair,  which  he 
recounted  in  words  that  exactly  accorded  with  the  statement  of 
Antonio. 

As  soon  as  I  was  dressed,  I  repaired  to  M.  R ,  and  found, 

true  enough,  that  he  was  the  bronze-complexioned  man  of  Nijni. 
The  only  difference  was,  that  at  Moscow  he  had  an  agitated  air, 
very  different  from  his  former  immobility.  I  found  him  out  of 
bed ;  we  recognized  each  other  in  a  moment ;  but  when  I  told 
him  the  object  of  my  very  early  morning  call  he  appeared  em- 
barrassed. 

"It  is  true  that  I  have  travelled,"  he  said,  "with  M.  Fernet, 
but  it  was  by  mere  chance ;  we  met  at  Archangel,  and  from 
thence  have  proceeded  in  company  :  he  has  a  very  poor  constitu- 
tion, and  his  weak  health  gave  me  much  uneasiness  during  the 
journey :  1  rendered  him  the  services  that  humanity  called  for, 
but  nothing  more ;  I  am  not  one  of  his  friends  :  I  know  nothing 
of  him." 

"  I  know  still  less  of  him,"  I  replied ;  "  but  we  are  all  three 
Frenchmen,  and  we  owe  each  other  mutual  aid  in  a  country  where 


448  THE    FRENCH    CONSUL    AT    MOSCOW. 

our  liberty  and  our  life  may  be  menaced  any  moment  by  a  power 
which  cannot  be  seen  till  it  strikes." 

"  Perhaps  M.  Fernet,"  replied  M.  R ,  "has  got  himself  into 

this  scrape  by  some  imprudence.  A  stranger  like  himself,  and 
without  credit,  what  can  I  do  ?  If  he  is  innocent,  the  arrest  will 
be  followed  by  no  serious  consequences  :  if  he  is  culpable,  he  will 
have  to  submit  to  the  punishment.  I  can  do  nothing  for  him, 
I  owe  him  nothing ;  and  I  advise  you,  sir,  to  be  yourself  very 
cautious  in  any  steps  you  may  take  in  his  favour,  as  well  as  in 
your  language  respecting  the  affair." 

"  But  what  will  decide  his  guilt  ?"  I  exclaimed.  "  It  will  be 
first  of  all  necessary  to  see  him,  to  know  to  what  he  attributes 
this  arrest,  and  to  ask  him  what  can  be  said  or  done  for  him." 

a  You  forget  the  country  we  are  in,"  answered  M.  R :  "  he 

is  in  a  dungeon  ;  how  could  we  get  access  to  him  ?  the  thing  is 
impossible." 

"  What  is  also  impossible,"  I  replied  rising,  "  is  that  French- 
men— that  any  men,  should  leave  their  countryman  in  a  critical 
situation  without  even  inquiring  the  cause  of  his  misfortune." 

On  leaving  this  very  prudent  travelling  companion,  I  began  to 
think  the  case  more  serious  than  I  had  at  first  supposed ;  and  I 
considered  that,  to  understand  the  true  position  of  the  prisoner,  I 
ought  to  address  myself  to  the  French  consul.  Being  obliged  to 
wait  the  usual  hour  for  seeing  that  personage,  I  ordered  back  my 
post-horses,  to  the  great  surprise  and  displeasure  of  thefeldjager, 
as  they  were  already  at  the  door  when  I  gave  the  countermand. 

At  ten  o'clock,  I  made  to  the  French  consul  the  above  relation 
of  facts  ;  and  found  that  official  protector  of  the  French  quite  as 

prudent,  and  yet  more  cold,  than  Doctor  R had  appeared  to 

me.  Since  he  has  lived  in  Moscow,  this  consul  has  became  almost 
a  Russian.  I  could  not  make  out  whether  his  answers  were 
dictated  by  a  fear  founded  on  a  knowledge  of  the  usages  of  the 
country,  or  by  a  sentiment  of  wounded  self-love,  of  ill-understood 
personal  dignity. 

"  M.  Fernet,"  he  said,  "  passed  six  months  in  Moscow  and  its 
environs,  without  having  thought  fit,  during  all  that  time,  to  make 
the  smallest  approach  towards  the  consul  of  France.  M.  Fernet 
must  look,  therefore,  to  himself  alone  to  get  out  of  the  situation 
in  which  his  heedlessness  has  involved  him.  This  answer,"  added 
the  consul,  "  is  perhaps  not  sufficiently  distinct."  He  then  con- 
cluded by  repeating  that  he  neither  ought,  nor  could,  nor  would, 
mix  himself  up  with  the  affair. 

In  vain  did  I  represent  to  him,  that,  in  his  capacity  as  our 


EFFECTS    OF    IMAGINATION.  449 

consul,  he  owed  to  every  Frenchman,  without  distinction  of  per- 
sons, and  even  if  they  failed  in  the  laws  of  etiquette,  his  aid  and 
protection ;  that  the  present  question  was  not  one  of  ceremony, 
but  of  the  liberty  and  perhaps  the  life  of  a  fellow-countryman ; 
and  that,  under  such  a  misfortune,  all  resentment  should  be  at 
least  suspended  till  the  danger  was  over.  I  could  not  extract  one 
word,  not  one  single  expression  of  interest  in  favour  of  the 
prisoner  ;  nor  even,  when  I  reasoned  on  public  grounds,  and  spoke 
of  the  dignity  of  France,  and  the  safety  of  all  Frenchmen  who 
travelled  in  Russia,  could  I  make  any  impression  ;  in  short,  this 
second  attempt  aided  the  cause  no  better  than  the  first. 

Nevertheless,  though  I  had  not  even  known  M.  Fernet  by  name, 
and  though  I  had  no  motive  to  take  any  personal  interest  in  him, 
it  seemed  to  me,  as  chance  had  made  me  acquainted  with  his  mis- 
fortune, that  it  was  no  more  than  my  duty  to  give  him  all  the  aid 
that  lay  in  my  power.  I  was  at  this  moment  strongly  struck 
with  a  truth  which  is  no  doubt  often  present  to  the  thoughts  of 
others,  but  which  had  only  until  then  vaguely  and  fleetingly 
passed  before  my  mind — the  truth  that  imagination  serves  to 
extend  the  sphere  of  pity,  and  to  render  it  more  active.  I  went 
even  so  far  as  to  conclude  in  my  own  mind,  that  a  man  without 
imagination  would  be  absolutely  devoid  of  feeling.  All  my  im- 
aginative or  creative  faculties  were  busy  in  presenting  to  me,  in 
spite  of  myself,  this  unhappy  unknown  man,  surrounded  by  the 
phantoms  of  his  prison  solitude  :  I  suffered  with  him,  I  felt  his 
feelings,  I  shared  his  fears  ;  I  saw  him  forsaken  by  all  the  world, 
discovering  that  his  state  was  hopeless  :  for  who  would  ever 
interest  themselves  in  a  prisoner  in  this  land,  so  distant  and  so 
different  from  ours,  in  a  society  where  friends  meet  together  for 
amusement  and  separate  in  adversity.  What  a  stimulus  was  this 
thought  to  nay  commiseration  !  "  You  believe  yourself  to  be 
alone  in  the  world  :  you  are  unjust  towards  Providence,  which 
sends  you  a  friend  and  a  brother."  These  were  the  words  whic  i 
I  mentally  addressed  to  the  victim. 

Meanwhile,  the  unhappy  man  could  hope  for  no  succour,  and 
every  hour  that  passed  in  his  dreadful  silence  and  monotony 
would  plunge  him  deeper  in  despair  :  night  would  come  with  its 
train  of  spectres ;  and  then  what  terrors,  what  regrets  would 
seize  upon  him  !  How  did  I  pant  to  tell  him  that  the  zeal  of  a 
stranger  should  replace  the  loss  of  the  faithless  protectors  on 
whom  he  had  a  right  to  depend  !  But  all  means  of  communication 
were  impossible  :  the  dismal  hallucinations  of  the  dungeon  pur- 
sued me  in  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  notwithstanding  the  bright 


450  ADVICE    OF 

arch  of  heaven  above  my  head,  they  shut  me  up,  as  it  were,  in 
dark,  dank  vaults  ;  for  in  my  distress,  forgetting  that  the  Russians 


apply  the  classic  architecture  to  the  construction  even  of  prisons, 
I  dreamt  not  of  Roman  colonnades,  but  of  Gothic  cells.  Had  my 
imagination  less  deeply  impressed  me  with  all  these  things,  I 
should  have  been  less  active  and  persevering  in  my  efforts  in 
favour  of  an  unknown  individual.  I  was  followed  by  a  spectre, 
and  to  rid  myself  of  it  no  efforts  could  have  been  too  great. 

To  have  insisted  on  entering  the  prison  would  have  been  a  step 
no  less  useless  than  dangerous.  After  long  and  painful  doubt,  I 
thought  of  another  plan  :  I  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  several 
of  the  most  influential  people  in  Moscow;  and  though  I  had,  two 
days  ago,  taken  leave  of  every  body,  I  resolved  to  risk  giving  my 
confidence  to  the  man  for  whom  I  had,  among  all  the  others,  con- 
ceived the  highest  opinion. 

Not  only  must  I  here  avoid  using  his  name,  I  must  also  take 
care  not  to  allude  to  him  in  any  way  by  which  he  could  be  iden- 
tified. 

When  he  saw  me  enter  his  room,  he  at  once  guessed  the  busi- 
ness that  brought  me ;  and  without  giving  me  time  to  explain 
myself,  he  told  me  that  by  a  singular  chance  he  knew  M.  Fernet 
personally,  and  believed  him  innocent,  which  caused  his  situa- 
tion to  appear  inexplicable  ;  but  that  he  was  sure  political  con- 
siderations could  have  alone  led  to  such  an  imprisonment,  because 
the  Russian  police  never  unmasks  itself,  unless  compelled ;  that, 
no  doubt,  the  existence  of  this  foreigner  had  been  supposed  to 
have  been  altogether  unknown  in  Moscow ;  but  that  now  the 
blow  was  struck,  his  friends  could  only  injure  him  by  showing 
themselves  ;  for  if  it  were  known  that  parties  were  interested  in 
him,  it  would  render  his  position  far  worse,  as  he  would  be  re- 
moved, to  avoid  all  discovery  and  to  stifle  all  complaints :  he 
added  therefore,  that,  for  the  victim's  sake,  extreme  circumspec- 
tion was  necessary.  "  If  once  he  departs  for  Siberia,  God  only 
can  say  when  he  will  return,"  exclaimed  my  counsellor ;  who 
afterwards  endeavoured  to  make  me  understand  that  he  could  not 
openly  avow  the  interest  he  took  in  a  suspected  Frenchman  ;  for 
being  himself  suspected  of  liberal  principles,  a  word  from  him, 
intimating  merely  that  he  knew  the  prisoner,  would  suffice  to 
exile  the  latter  to  the  farther  end  of  the  world.  He  concluded 
by  saying,  "  You  are  neither  his  relation  jior  his  friend  ;  you  only 
take  in  him  the  interest  that  you  believe  you  ought  to  take  in  a 
countryman,  in  a  man  whom  you  know  to  be  in  trouble ;  you 
have  already  acquitted  yourself  of  the  duty  that  this  praiseworthy 


A    RUSSIAN.  451 

sentiment  imposes  on  you  ;  you  have  spoken  to  your  consul ;  you 
had  now,  believe  me,  better  abstain  from  any  further  steps ;  it 
will  do  no  good,  and  you  will  compromise  yourself  for  the  man 
whose  defence  you  gratuitously  undertake.  He  does  not  know 
you,  he  expects  nothing  from  you ;  continue,  then,  your  journey, 
you  will  disappoint  no  hopes  that  he  has  conceived ;  I  will  keep 
my  eye  on  him ;  I  cannot  appear  in  the  affair,  but  I  have  indirect 
means  which  may  be  useful,  and  I  promise  to  employ  them  to  the 
utmost  of  my  power.  Once  again,  then,  follow  my  advice,  and 
pursue  your  journey." 

"  If  I  were  to  set  out,"  I  exclaimed,  "  I  should  not  have  a 
moment's  peace ;  I  should  be  pursued  by  a  feeling  that  would 
amount  to  remorse,  when  I  recollected  that  the  unfortunate  man 
has  me  only  to  defend  him,  and  that  I  have  abandoned  him 
without  doing  any  thing." 

"  Your  presence  here,"  he  answered,  "  will  not  even  serve  to 
console  him,  as  he  is  and  must  continue  wholly  ignorant  of  the 
interest  you  take  in  him." 

"  There  are,  then,  no  means  of  gaining  access  to  the  dun- 
geon ?  " 

"  None,"  replied  the  individual  addressed,  not  without  some 
marks  of  impatience  at  my  thus  persisting.  "  Were  you  his 
brother,  you  could  do  no  more  for  him  here  than  you  have  done. 
Your  presence  at  Petersburg  may,  on  the  contrary,  be  useful  to 
M.  Fernet.  You  can  inform  the  French  ambassador  of  all  that 
you  know  about  this  imprisonment ;  for  I  doubt  whether  he  will 
hear  any  thing  of  it  from  your  consul.  A  representation  made 
to  the  minister  by  a  personage  in  the  position  of  your  ambassa- 
dor, and  by  a  man  possessing  the  character  of  M.  de  Barante,  will 
do  more  to  hasten  the  deliverance  of  your  countryman  than  you 
and  I,  and  any  twenty  others  could  do  in  Moscow." 

"  But  the  Emperor  and  his  ministers  are  at  Borodino  or  at 
Moscow,"  I  answered,  unwilling  to  take  a  refusal. 

"  All  the  ministers  have  not  followed  His  Majesty,"  he  re- 
plied, still  in  a  polite  tone,  but  with  increasing  and  scarcely  con- 
cealed ill-humour.  "  Besides,  at  the  worst,  their  return  must  be 
awaited.  You  have,  I  repeat,  no  other  course  to  take,  unless 
you  would  injure  the  man  whom  you  wish  to  serve,  and  expose 
yourself  also  to  many  unpleasant  surmises,  or  perhaps  to  some- 
thing worse,"  he  added,  in  a  significant  manner. 

Had  the  person  to  whom  I  addressed  myself  been  a  place- 
man, I  should  have  already  fancied  I  saw  the  Cossacks  advan- 
cing to  seize  me,  to  convey  me  to  a  dungeon  like  that  of  M. 
Fernet. 


452  GREAT   NOVGOROD. 

I  felt  that  the  patience  of  my  adviser  was  at  an  end ;  I 
had  nothing,  in  fact,  to  reply  to  his  arguments  :  I  therefore  re- 
tired, promising  to  leave,  and  gratefully  thanking  him  for  his 
counsel. 

"  As  it  is  obvious  I  can  do  nothing  here,  I  will  leave  at 
once,"  I  said  to  myself:  but  the  slow  motions  of  my  feldjager 
took  up  the  rest  of  the  morning,  and  it  was  past  four  in  the  af- 
ternoon before  I  was  on  the  road  to  Petersburg. 

The  sulkiness  of  the  courier,  the  want  of  horses,  felt  every 
where  on  the  road  on  account  of  relays  being  retained  for  the 
household  of  the  Emperor  and  for  military  officers,  as  well  as  for 
couriers  proceeding  from  Borodino  to  Petersburg,  made  my 
journey  long  and  tedious :  in  my  impatience,  I  insisted  on  travel- 
ling all  night ;  but  I  gained  nothing  by  this  haste,  being  obliged, 
for  want  of  horses,  to  pass  six  whole  hours  at  Great  Novgorod, 
within  fifty  leagues  of  Petersburg. 

I  was  scarcely  in  a  fitting  mood  to  visit  the  cradle  of  the 
Sclavonian  empire,  and  which  became  also  the  tomb  of  its  liberty. 
The  famous  church  of  St.  Sophia  encloses  the  sepulchres  of 
Vladimir  laroslawitch,  who  died  in  1051,  of  his  mother  Anne, 
and  of  an  emperor  of  Constantinople.  It  resembles  the  other 
Russian  churches,  and  perhaps  is  not  more  authentic  than  the 
pretended  ancient  cathedral  that  contains  the  bones  of  Minine  at 
Nijni-Novgorod.  I  no  longer  believe  in  the  dates  of  any  old 
monuments  that  are  shown  me  in  Russia.  But  I  still  believe  in 
the  names  of  its  rivers  :  the  Volkoif  represented  to  me  the  fright- 
ful scenes  connected  with  the  siege  of  this  republican  city,  taken, 
retaken,  and  decimated  by  Ivan  the  Terrible.  I  could  fancy  I 
saw  the  imperial  hyena,  presiding  over  carnage  and  pestilence, 
couched  among  the  ruins  of  the  city ;  and  the  bloody  corpses  of 
his  subjects  seemed  to  issue  out  of  the  river  that  was  choked 
with  their  bodies,  to  prove  to  me  the  horrors  of  intestine  wars. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that  the  correspondence  of  the  Arch- 
bishop Pinen,  and  of  other  principal  citizens  of  Novgorod  with 
the  Poles,  was  the  cause  which  brought  the  evil  on  the  city, 
where  thirty  thousand  innocent  persons  perished  in  the  combat} 
and  in  the  executions  and  massacres  invented  and  presided  over 
by  the  Czar.  There  were  days  on  which  six  hundred  were  at 
once  executed  before  his  eyes ;  and  all  these  horrors  were  en- 
acted to  punish  a  crime  unpardonable  from  that  epoch — the  crime 
of  clandestine  communication  with  the  Poles.  This  took  place 
nearly  three  hundred  years  ago,  in  1570.  Great  Novgorod  has 
never  recovered  the  stroke :  she  could  have  replaced  her  dead, 


M.    DE    BARANTE.  453 

but  she  could  not  survive  the  abolition  of  her  democratic  institu- 
tions :  her  whitewashed  houses  are  no  longer  stained  with  blood ; 
they  appear  as  if  they  had  been  built  only  yesterday ;  but  her 
streets  are  deserted,  and  three  parts  of  her  ruins  are  spread  over 
the  plain,  beyond  the  narrow  bounds  of  the  actual  city,  which  is 
but  a  shadow  and  a  name.  This  is  all  that  remains  of  the  fa- 
mous republic  of  the  middle  ages.  Where  are  the  fruits  of  the 
revolutions  which  never  ceased  to  saturate  the  now  almost  de- 
sert soil  with  blood  ?  Here,  all  is  as  silent  as  it  was  before  the 
history.  God  has  only  too  often  had  to  teach  us,  that  objects 
which  men  blinded  with  pride,  viewed  as  a  worthy  end  of  their 
efforts,  were  really  only  a  means  of  employing  their  superfluous 
powers  during  the  effervescence  of  youth.  Such  are  the  princi- 
ples of  more  than  one  heroic  action. 

For  three  centuries,  the  bell  of  the  vetchc*  has  ceased  to  sum- 
mon the  people  of  Novgorod,  formerly  the  most  glorious  and  the 
most  turbulent  of  the  Russian  populations,  to  deliberate  upon 
their  own  affairs.  The  will  of  the  Czar  stifles  in  every  heart  all 
sentiments,  including  even  regret  for  the  memory  of  effaced  glory. 
Some  years  ago,  frightful  scenes  occurred  between  the  Cossacks 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  in  the  military  colonies  estab- 
lished in  the  vicinity  of  the  decayed  city.  But  the  insurrection 
was  stifled,  and  every  thing  has  returned  to  its  accustomed  order, 
that  is,  to  the  silence  and  peace  of  the  tomb. 

I  was  very  happy  to  leave  this  abode,  formerly  famous  for  the 
disorders  of  liberty,  now  desolated  by  what  is  called  good  order, 
— a  word  which  is  here  equivalent  to  that  of  death. 

Although  I  made  all  possible  haste,  I  did  not  reach  Peters- 
burg until  the  fourth  day  :  immediately  after  leaving  my  carriage, 
I  repaired  to  M.  de  Barante's. 

He  was  quite  ignorant  of  the  arrest  of  M.  Pernet,  and  ap- 
peared surprised  to  hear  of  it  through  me,  especially  when  he 
learnt  that  I  had  been  nearly  four  days  on  the  road.  His  aston- 
ishment redoubled  when  I  related  to  him  my  unavailing  endea- 
vours to  influence  our  consul — that  official  protector  of  the  French 
— to  take  some  step  in  favour  of  the  prisoner. 

The  attention  with  which  M.  de  Barante  listened  to  me,  the 
assurance  which  he  gave  me  that  he  would  neglect  nothing  to 
clear  up  this  affair,  the  importance  with  which  he  appeared  to  in- 
vest the  smallest  facts  that  could  interest  the  dignity  of  France 
and  the  safety  of  her  citizens,  put  my  conscience  at  ease,  and  dis- 

*  Popular  assembly. 


454  SEQUEL    OF    THE    HISTORY 

sipated  the  phantoms  of  my  imagination.  The  fate  of  M.  Fernet 
was  in  the  hands  of  his  natural  protector,  whose  ability  and  char- 
acter became  better  sureties  for  the  safety  of  this  unfortunate  man 
than  my  zealous  though  powerless  solicitations.  I  felt  I  had 
done  all  that  I  could  for  him,  and  for  the  honour  of  my  country. 
During  the  twelve  or  fourteen  days  that  I  remained  at  Peters- 
burg, I  purposely  abstained  from  pronouncing  the  name  of  Fernet 
before  the  ambassador ;  and  I  left  Russia  without  knowing  the 
end  of  a  history  which  had  so  much  absorbed  and  interested 
me. 

But  while  journeying  towards  France,  my  mind  was  often 
carried  back  to  the  dungeons  of  Moscow.  If  I  had  known  all 
that  was  passing  there,  it  would  have  been  yet  more  painfully 
excited. 


Not  to  leave  the  reader  in  the  ignorance  in  which  I  remained  for  nearly 
six  months,  respecting  the  fate  of  the  prisoner  at  Moscow,  I  insert  here  all 
that  I  have  learnt  since  my  return  to  France  respecting  the  imprisonment 
of  M.  Fernet,  and  his  deliverance. 

One  day,  near  the  end  of  the  winter  of  1840,  I  was  informed  that  a 
stranger  was  at  my  door,  and  wished  to  speak  with  me.  I  desired  that  he 
would  give  his  name  :  he  replied  that  he  would  give  it  to  me  only.  I  re- 
fused to  see  him  ;  he  persisted ;  I  again  refused.  At  last,  renewing  his  en- 
treaties, he  sent  up  a  line  of  writing  without  any  signature,  to  say  that  I 
could  not  refuse  listening  to  a  man  who  owed  to  me  his  life,  and  who  only 
wished  to  thank  me. 

This  language  appeared  extraordinary.  I  ordered  the  stranger  to  be 
inti'oduced.  On  entering  the  room  he  said — "Sir,  it  was  only  yesterday  I 
learnt  your  address  :  my  name  is  Fernet ;  and  I  come  to  express  to  you 
my  gratitude ;  for  I  was  told  at  Petersburg  that  it  is  to  you  I  owe  my  lib- 
erty, and  consequently  my  life." 

After  the  first  surprise  which  such  an  address  caused  me,  I  began  to 
notice  the  person  of  M.  Fernet.  He  is  one  of  that  numerous  class  of  young 
Frenchmen  who  have  the  appearance  and  the  temperament  of  the  men  of 
southern  lands  ;  his  eyes  and  hair  are  black,  his  cheeks  hollow,  his  coun- 
tenance every  where  equally  pale  ;  he  is  short  and  slight  in  figure ;  and 
he  appeared  to  be  suffering,  though  rather  morally  than  physically.  He 
discovered  that  I  knew  some  members  of  his  family  settled  in  Savoy,  who 
are  among  the  most  respectable  people  of  that  land  of  honest  men.  He 
told  me  that  he  was  an  advocate  ;  and  he  related  that  he  had  been  detained 
in  the  prison  of  Moscow  for  three  weeks,  four  da^'s  of  wnich  time  he  was 
placed  in  the  cells.  We  shall  see  by  his  recital  the  way  in  which  a  pris- 
oner is  treated  in  this  abode.  My  imagination  had  not  approached  the 
reality. 

The'two  first  days  he  was  left  without  food!  No  one  came  near  him; 
and  he  believed,  for  forty-eight  hours,  that  they  were  determined  to  starve 


OF    M.    FERNET.  455 

him  to  death  in  his  prison.  The  only  sound  that  he  heard  was  that  of  the 
strokes  of  the  rod,  which,  from  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  night,  were 
inflicted  upon  the  unhappy  slaves  who  were  sent  by  their  masters  to  this 
place,  to  receive  correction.  Add  to  that  frightful  sound,  the  sobs  and 
screams  of  the  victims,  mingled  with  the  menaces  and  imprecations  of  the 
tormentors,  and  you  will  form  some  faint  idea  of  the  moral  as  well  as  phy- 
sical sufferings  of  our  unhappy  countryman  during  four  weary  days,  and 
while  still  remaining  ignorant  of  his  crime. 

After  having  thus  penetrated  against  his  will  into  the  profound  mys- 
tery of  a  Russian  prison,  he  believed,  not  without  reason,  that  he  was  des- 
tined to  end  his  days  there ;  for  he  said  to  himself,  "  If  there  had  been 
any  intention  to  release  me,  it  is  not  here  that  I  should  be  confined  by  men 
who  fear  nothing  so  much  as  to  have  their  secret  barbarity  divulged." 

A  slight  partition  alone  separated  his  narrow  cell  from  the  inner  court, 
where  these  cruelties  were  perpetrated. 

The  rod  which,  since  the  amelioration  of  manners,  usually  replaces  the 
knout  of  Mongolic  memory,  is  formed  of  a  cane  split  into  three  pieces,  an 
instrument  which-  fetches  off  the  skin  at  every  stroke;  at  the  fifth,  the  vic- 
tim loses  nearly  all  power  to  cry,  his  weakened  voice  can  then  only  utter 
a  prolonged  sobbing  groan.  This  horrible  rattle  in  the  throat  of  the  tor- 
tured creatures  pierced  the  heart  of  the  prisoner,  and  presaged  to  him  a 
fate  which  he  dared  not  look  in  the  face. 

M.  Fernet  understands  Russian;  he  was  therefore  present,  without  see- 
ing any  thing,  at  many  private  tortures  ;  among  others,  at  those  of  two 
young  girls,  who  worked  under  a  fashionable  milliner  in  Moscow.  These 
unfortunate  creatures  were  flogged  before  the  eyes  even  of  their  mistress, 
who  reproached  them  with  having  lovers,  and  with  having  so  far  forgotten 
themselves  as  to  bring  them  into  her  house — the  house  of  a  milliner ! — 
what  an  enormity  !  Meanwhile  this  virago  exhorted  the  executioners  to 
strike  harder  :  one  of  the  girls  begged  for  mercy :  they  said  that  she  was 
nearly  killed,  that  she  was  covered  with  blood.  No  matter!  She  had 
carried  her  audacity  so  far  as  to  say  that  she  was  less  culpable  than  her 
mistress  ;  and  the  latter  redoubled  her  severity.  M.  Fernet  assured  me, 
observing  that  he  thought  I  might  doubt  his  assertion,  that  each  of  the 
unhappy  girls  received,  at  different  intervals,  a  hundred  and  eighty  blows. 
"I  suffered  too  much  in  counting  them,"  he  added,  "to  be  deceived  as  to 
the  number." 

A  man  feels  the  approach  of  insanity  when  present  at  such  horrors,  and 
yet  unable  to  succour  the  victims. 

Afterwards,  serfs  and  servants  were  brought  by  stewards,  or  sent  by 
their  masters,  wk-h  the  request  that  they  might  be  punished  ;  there  was 
nothing,  in  short,  but  scenes  of  atrocious  vengeance  and  frightful  despair, 
all  hidden  from  the  public  eye.*  The  unhappy  prisoner  longed  for  the 
obscurity  of  night,  because  the  darkness  brought  with  it  silence;  and  though 
his  thoughts  then  terrified  him,  he  preferred  the  evils  of  imagination  to 
those  of  reality.  This  is  always  the  case  with  real  sufferers.  It  is  only 
the  dreamers  who  have  comfortable  beds  and  good  tables,  who  pretend 
the  evils  we  fancy  exceed  those  that  we  feel. 

At  last,  after  four  times  twenty-four  hours  of  a  torment  which  would,  I 

*  See,  in  Dickens's  American  Journey,  extracts  from  the  United  States'  papers,  concern- 
ing the  treatment  of  the  slaves;  presenting  a  remarkable  resemblance  between  the  excesses 
of  deepo'ism  and  the  abuoes  of  democracy. 


456  INTERIOR    OF    A    MOSCOW    PRISON. 

think,  surpass  all  our  efforts  to  picture,  M.  Fernet  was  taken  from  his  dun- 
geon, still  without  any  explanation,  and  transferred  to  another  part  of  the 
prison. 

From  thence  he  wrote  to  M.  de  Barante,  by  General  ,  on  whose 

good  offices  he  thought  he  could  reckon. 

The  letter  did  not  reach  its  address ;  and  when  afterwards  the  writer 
demanded  an  explanation  of  this  circumstance,  the  general  excused  himself 
by  subterfuges,  and  concluded  by  swearing  to  M.  Fernet,  on  the  Gospel, 
that  the  letter  had  not  been  put  in  the  hands  of  the  minister  of  police,  and 
never  would  be  !  This  was  the  utmost  extent  of  devotion  that  the  prisoner 
could  obtain  from  his  friend :  and  this  is  the  fate  of  human  affections  when 
they  pass  under  the  yoke  of  despotism. 

At  the  end  of  three  weeks — which  had  been  an  eternity  to  M.  Fernet 
— he  was  released  without  any  form  of  process,  and  without  even  being 
able  to  learn  the  cause  of  his  imprisonment. 

His  reiterated  questions,  addressed  to  the  director  of  police  in  Moscow, 
procured  for  him  no  explanations ;  he  was  merely  told  that  his  ambassador 
had  claimed  him ;  and  this  was  accompanied  with  an  order  to  leave  Rus- 
sia. He  asked,  and  obtained  permission  to  take  the  route  of  Petersburg. 

He  wished  to  thank  the  French  ambassador  for  the  liberty  which  he 
owed  to  him ;  and  also  to  obtain  some  information  as  to  the  cause  of  the 
treatment  he  had  undergone.  M.  de  Barante  endeavoured,  but  in  vain,  to 
divert  him  from  the  project  of  addressing  M.  de  Benkendorf,  the  minister 
of  the  Imperial  police.  The  liberated  man  demanded  an  audience  :  it  was 
granted  him.  He  said  to  the  minister  that,  being  ignorant  of  the  cause  of 
the  punishment  that  he  had  received,  he  wished  to  know  his  crime  before 
leaving  Russia. 

The  statesman  briefly  answered,  that  he  would  do  well  to  carry  his  in- 
quiries on  the  subject  no  further,  and  dismissed  him,  repeating  the  order 
that  he  should,  without  delay,  leave  the  empire. 

Such  is  all  the  information  that  I  could  obtain  from  M.  Fernet.  This 
young  man,  like  every  one  else  who  has  lived  some  time  in  Russia,  has  ac- 
quired a  mysterious  and  reserved  tone  of  language,  to  which  foreigners  are- 
as liable  as  the  native  inhabitants.  One  would  say  that  in  that  empire,  a 
secret  weighs  upon  all  minds. 

On  my  continuing  my  inquiries,  M.  Fernet  further  stated,  that  on  his 
first  journey  to  the  country,  they  had  given  him,  in  his  passport,  the  title 
of  merchant,  and  on  the  second,  that  of  advocate.  He  added  a  more  serious 
circumstance,  namely,  that  before  reaching  Petersburg,  while  in  a  steam- 
boat on  the  Baltic,  he  had  freely  expressed  his  opinion  of  Russian  despot- 
ism, before  several  individuals  whom  he  did  not  know. 

He  assured  me,  on  leaving,  that  his  memory  could  recal  no  other  cir- 
cumstance that  could  account  for  the  treatment  he  had  received  at  Moscow. 
I  have  never  seen  him  since  ;  though,  by  a  singular  chance,  I  met,  two 
years  after,  a  member  of  his  family,  who  said  he  knew  of  the  services  I  had 
rendered  to  his  young  relative,  and  thanked  me  for  them.  This  family,  I 
repeat,  are  respected  by  all  who  know  them  in  the  kingdom  of  Sardinia. 


The  last  moments  of  my  stay  in  Petersburg  were  employed 


VISIT    TO    COLPINA.  45? 

in  inspecting  various  establishments  that  I  had  not  seen  on  my 
visit  to  that  city. 

Prince showed  me.  among  other  curiosities,  the  immense 

works  of  Colpina,  the  arsenal  of  the  Russian  arsenals,  which  is 
situated  some  leagues  from  the  capital.  In  this  manufactory  are 
prepared  all  the  articles  required  for  the  Imperial  marine.  Colpina 
is  reached  by  a  road  seven  leagues  in  length,  the  last  half  of  which 
is  execrable.  The  establishment  is  directed  by  an  Englishman, 
M.  Wilson,  who  is  honoured  with  the  rank  of  General  (all  Russia 
is  converted  into  an  army).  He  exhibited  to  us  his  machines,  like 
a  true  Russian  engineer,  not  permitting  us  to  overlook  a  nail  or  a 
screw  :  under  his  escort  we  surveyed  about  twenty  workshops,  of 
enormous  size.  The  extreme  complaisance  of  the  director  deserved 
much  gratitude,  though  I  expressed  but  little,  and  that  little  was 
more  than  I  felt ;  fatigue  renders  a  man  almost  as  ungrateful  as 
ennui. 

The  object  that  we  most  admired  in  this  tedious  inspection 
was  a  machine  of  Bramah's,  invented  to  prove  the  strength  of 
the  largest  chain-cables :  the  enormous  links  that  can  resist  the 
force  of  this  machine,  may  hold  the  mightiest  vessel  of  war  at 
anchor  in  the  highest  seas.  An  ingenious  application  of  water- 
pressure,  to  measure  the  strength  of  iron,  is  the  invention  which 
appeared  to  me  so  marvellous. 

We  also  examined  sluices  destined  to  serve  in  extraordinary 
floods  of  water.  It  is  especially  in  spring-time  that  they  are  use- 
ful. Without  them,  the  stream  which  moves  the  various  machines 
would  cause  incalculable  damage.  The  canals  of  these  sluices  are 
lined  with  thick  sheets  of  copper,  because  that  metal  is  found  to 
resist  the  winters  better  than  granite.  I  was  told  that  I  should 
see  nothing  like  them  elsewhere. 

When  we  entered  the  carriage  to  return  to  Petersburg,  it  was 
already  night,  and  very  cold  The  length  of  the  road  was  short- 
ened by  a  charming  conversation,  of  which  I  have  retained  one 
anecdote.  It  will  serve  to  prove  to  what  extent  the  creative 
power  of  an  absolute  sovereign  can  be  carried.  Hitherto  I  had 
only  seen  it  exercised  upon  buildings,  upon  the  dead,  upon  historic 
facts,  upon  prisoners,1— in  short,  upon  all  things  that  could  not 
protest  agaiost  an  abuse  of  power  :  this  time  we  shall  see  a 
Russian  emperor  imposing  upon  one  of  the  most  illustrious  fami- 
lies of  France,  a  relative  of  whom  it  knew  nothing. 

Under  the  reign  of  Paul  I.  a  Frenchman  of  the  name  of  Lovel, 
young  and  agreeable  in  person,  gained  the  affections  of  a  very 
wealthy  and  high-born  maiden.  Her  family  were  hostile  to  the 
20 


468  ACADEMY    OP    PAINTING. 

union,  on  account  of  the  foreigner's  possessing  neither  name  nor 
fortune.  The  two  lovers,  reduced  to  despair,  had  recourse  to  a 
romantic  expedient.  They  stood  in  wait  for  the  emperor,  in  some 
street  by  which  he  was  to  pass,  threw  themselves  at  his  feet  and 
besought  his  protection.  Paul,  who  was  good-natured  when  he 
was  not  mad,  promised  the  consent  of  the  family,  which  he 
doubtless  knew  how  to  procure  by  more  than  one  means,  and 
among  others,  by  this :  "  Mademoiselle  Kaminska  shall  marry," 
said  the  emperor,  "  M.  the  Count  de  Laval,  a  young  French 
emigre,  of  illustrious  family,  and  the  possessor  of  a  considerable 
fortune." 

Thus  endowed,  the  young  Frenchman  was  united  to  the  object 
of  his  affections. 

To  prove  the  words  of  the  sovereign,  M.  de  Laval  caused 
his  escutcheon  to  be  proudly  sculptured  over  the  door  of  his 
mansion. 

Unfortunately,  fifteen  years  afterwards,  a  M.  de  Montmorency 
Laval  journeyed  into  Russia ;  and  seeing,  by  chance,  his  arms 
above  a  door,  he  made  inquiries,  and  learnt  the  history  of  M. 
Lovel. 

On  his  representations,  the  Emperor  Alexander  caused  the 
escutcheon  of  the  Lavals  to  be  taken  down,  and  the  door  of  M. 
Lovel  remained  stripped  of  its  glory ;  which  has  not,  however, 
prevented  him  up  to  this  day  from  doing  the  honours  of  an  excel- 
lent house  in  Petersburg,  which  will  be  always  called  the  Hdtel 
de  Laval,  out  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  the  Emperor  Paul,  to 
whom  an  expiation  is  indeed  owing. 

The  day  after  my  journey  to  Colpina,  I  visited  the  Academy 
of  Painting,  a  superb  and  stately  edifice,  which  up  to  the  present 
time  contains  but  few  good  works.  How  can  they  be  expected 
in  a  land  where  the  young  artists  wear  uniform  ?  I  found  all  the 
pupils  of  the  Academy  enrolled,  dressed,  and  commanded  like 
marine  cadets.  This  fact  alone  denotes  a  profound  contempt  for 
the  object  pretended  to  be  patronized,  or  rather  a  great  ignorance 
of  the  nature  and  the  mysteries  of  art;  professed  indifference 
would  be  less  indicative  of  barbarism.  There  is  nothing  free  in 
Russia,  except  objects  for  which  the  government  does  not  care ; 
it  cares  only  too  much  for  the  arts ;  but  it  is  ignorant  that  they 
cannot  dispense  with  liberty,  and  that  this  sympathy  between  the 
works  of  genius  and  the  independence  of  man  would  alone  attest 
the  nobleness  of  the  artist's  profession. 

I  went  over  numerous  studios,  and  found  there  some  skilful 
landscape-painters :  their  compositions  display  imagination  and 


THE    RUSSIAN   SCHOOL.  459 

even  colour.  I  particularly  admired  a  picture  representing  St. 
Petersburg  on  a  summer's  night,  by  M.  Yorobieff :  it  is  beautiful 
as  nature,  poetical  as  truth.  This  picture  reminded  me  of  my 
first  arrival  in  Russia,  when  the  summer  nights  consisted  of  no 
more  than  two  twilights :  the  effect  of  such  perpetual  day,  which 
pierces  through  obscurity,  like  a  bright  lamp  through  a  gauze 
veil,  could  not  be  better  rendered.  I  saw  again  the  polar  light, 
so  different  from  the  colouring  of  other  scenes,  which  I  had  first 
beheld  on  the  Baltic.  To  be  able  thus  exactly  to  characterize 
the  special  phenomena  of  nature,  proves  a  high  degree  of  merit. 

There  is  much  talk  in  Russia  of  the  talent  of  Brulow.  His 
Last  Day  of  Pompeii  produced,  it  is  said,  some  sensation,  even 
in  Italy.  This  enormous  piece  of  canvas  is  now  the  glory  of 
the  Russian  school :  let  not  the  reader  ridicule  the  designation  :  I 
saw  a  saloon,  on  the  door  of  which  these  words  were  inscribed  : — 
"  The  Russian  School!"  The  colouring  of  Brulow's  painting 
appeared  to  me  to  be  false,  though  certainly  the  subject  is  calcu- 
lated to  conceal  this  fault :  for  who  knows  the  shade  of  the  tints 
that  clad  the  structures  of  Pompeii  on  their  last  day?  The 
painter  has  a  hard  dry  touch,  but  he  exhibits  power :  his  concep- 
tions lack  neither  imagination  nor  originality.  His  heads  display 
truth  and  variety  :  if  he  understood  the  management  of  the  chiaro 
scuro,  he  might  some  day  deserve  the  reputation  that  is  given  to 
him  here  :  at  present,  he  is  deficient  in  natural  style,  in  colouring, 
in  lightness,  and  in  grace :  there  is  no  want  of  a  species  of  wild 
poetry  in  his  compositions,  but  their  general  effect  is  disagreeable. 
His  style,  which  is  stiff,  without  being  devoid  of  a  certain  noble- 
ness, reminds  one  of  the  imitators  of  the  school  of  David.  In  a 
painting  of  the  Assumption,  which  we  are  obliged  to  admire  at 
Petersburg,  because  it  is  the  work  of  the  famous  Brulow,  I  ob- 
served clouds  so  heavy  that  they  might  have  been  sent  to  repre- 
sent rocks  at  the  Opera. 

There  are  heads,  however,  in  the  Pompeii  picture  which  dis- 
cover real  talent.  The  painting,  notwithstanding  its  faults  as  a 
composition,  would  gain  in  celebrity  by  being  engraved  ;  for  it  is 
in  the  colouring  that  its  chief  defects  lie. 

It  is  said  that,  since  his  return  to  Russia,  the  painter  has  lost 
much  of  his  enthusiasm  for  the  art.  How  I  pity  him  for  having 
seen  Italy,  since  he  was  obliged  to  return  to  the  North !  He 
does  not  work  hard ;  and  unfortunately  his  rapid  facility,  which 
is  here  viewed  as  a  merit,  appears  but  too  plainly  in  his  pieces. 
It  is  only  by  assiduous  pains  and  labour  that  he  could  succeed 
in  conquering  the  stiffness  of  his  design  and  the  crudeness  of  his 


460        INFLUENCE  OF  THE  NORTH  UPON  THE  ARTS. 

colouring.  Great  painters  know  the  difficulty  of  learning  to 
design  without  the  pencil,  to  paint  by  the  intershading  and  blend- 
ing of  colours,  to  efface  from  the  canvas,  lines  which  exist  no- 
where in  nature,  to  show  the  air  which  exists  every  where,  to 
conceal  art, — in  short,  faithfully  to  depict  the  real,  yet  at  the 
same  time  to  ennoble  it. 

I  am  told  that  he  passes  much  more  of  his  time  in  drinking 
than  in  working  :  I  blame  him  less  than  I  pity  him.  Here,  every 
thing  is  good  if  it  only  tend  to  impart  a  glow  :  wine  is  the  sun 
of  Russia.  If  to  the  misery  of  being  a  Russian  is  added  the  cir- 
cumstance of  being  a  painter,  the  individual  ought  to  expatriate 
himself.  Must  not  the  land,  where  there  is  night  for  three 
months  of  the  year,  and  where  the  snow  sheds  a  brighter  radi- 
ance than  the  sun,  be  a  land  of  exile  to  the  painter  ? 

By  endeavouring  to  reproduce  the  singularities  of  nature  un- 
der these  latitudes,  a  few  character-painters  may  win  for  them- 
selves the  honour  of  a  place  on  the  steps  of  the  temple  of  arts ; 
but  an  historical  painter  ought  to  fly  this  climate.  Peter  the 
Great  laboured  in  vain;  nature  will  always  place  bounds  to  the 
fancies  of  men,  were  they  justified  by  the  ukases  of  twenty 
czars. 

I  have  seen  one  work  of  M.  Brulow,  which  is  truly  admira- 
ble :  it  is  unquestionably  the  best  of  all  the  modern  paintings  in 
Petersburg ;  though,  indeed,  it  is  a  copy,  full  as  large  as  the 
original,  of  an  ancient  chef-d'oeuvre,  the  School  of  Athens.  When 
an  individual  knows  how  thus  to  reproduce  one,  perhaps,  of 
Raphael's  most  inimitable  works  after  his  Madonnas,  he  ought 
to  return  to  Rome,  there  to  learn  to  do  something  better  than 
"  The  Last  Day  of  Pompeii"  and  "  The  Assumption  of  the 
Virgin."* 

The  vicinity  of  the  pole  is  unfavourable  to  the  arts,  with  the 
exception  of  poetry,  which  can  sometimes  dispense  with  all  mate- 
rial, except  the  human  soul ;  it  is  then  the  volcano  under  the  ice. 
But  for  the  inhabitants  of  these  dreadful  climates,  music,  paint- 
ing, the  dance — all  those  pleasures  of  sensation  which  are  par- 
tially independent  of  mind — lose  their  charms  in  losing  their 
organs.  What  are  Rembrandt,  Correggio,  Michael  Angelo,  and 
Raphael,  in  a  dark  room  ?  The  north  has  doubtless  its  own 
kind  of  beauty,  but  it  is  still  a  palace  without  light :  all  the  at- 
tractive train  of  youth,  with  their  pastimes,  their  smiles,  their 

*  M.  Brulow  has  copied  several  of  Raphael's  works ;  but  I  was  espe- 
cially struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  one  here  mentioned. 


ABOLITION    OF   THE   UNIATES.  461 

graces  and  their  dances,  confine  themselves  to  those  blest  regions 
where  the  rays  of  the  sun,  not  content  with  gliding  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth,  warm  and  fertilize  its  bosom  by  piercing  it 
from  on  high. 

In  Russia  a  double  gloom  pervades  every  thing — the  fear  of 
power  and  the  want  of  sun.  The  national  dances  resemble 
rounds  led  by  shadows  under  the  gleam  of  a  twilight  which  never 
ends.  Mademoiselle  Taglioni  herself  (alas !  for  Mademoiselle 
Taglioni !)  is  not  a  perfect  dancer  at  St.  Petersburg.  What  a 
fall  for  La  Sylph ide  !  But  when  she  walks  in  the  streets — for 
she  walks  at  present — she  is  followed  by  footmen  in  handsome 
cockades  and  gold  lace;  and  the  newspapers  overwhelm  her 
every  morning  with  articles  containing  the  most  preposterous 
praises  I  have  ever  seen.  This  is  all  the  Russians,  notwith- 
standing their  cleverness,  can  do  for  the  arts  and  for  artistes. 
What  the  latter  want  is  a  heaven  to  give  them  life,  a  public 
which  can  understand  them,  a  society  which  can  excite  and  in- 
spire them.  These  are  necessaries  :  rewards  are  supererogatory. 
It  is  not,  however,  in  a  country  contiguous  to  Lapland,  and 
governed  under  the  system  of  Peter  the  Great,  that  such  things 
are  to  be  sought  for.  I  must  wait  for  the  Russians'  establish- 
ment in  Constantinople,  before  I  can  know  of  what  they  are 
really  capable  in  the  fine  arts  and  in  civilization. 

The  best  method  of  patronizing  art  is  to  have  a  sincere  de- 
sire for  the  pleasures  it  procures:  a  nation  that  reaches  this 
point  of  civilization,  will  not  be  long  compelled  to  seek  for  artists 
among  foreigners. 

At  the  time  of  my  leaving  St.  Petersburg,  several  persons 
were  secretly  deploring  the  abolition  of  the  Uniates,*  and  re- 
counting the  arbitrary  measures  by  which  this  irreligious  act, 
celebrated  as  a  triumph  by  the  Greek  Church,  has  been  accom- 
plished. The  unknown  persecutions  to  which  many  priests 
among  the  Uniates  have  been  exposed,  would  be  viewed  as  re- 
volting by  even  the  most  indifferent  parties  ;  but  in  a  country 
where  distances  and  secrecy  lend  their  aid  to  the  most  tyrannical 
acts,  all  these  violations  of  justice  remain  concealed.  This  re- 
minds me  of  the  significant  words  too  often  repeated  by  Russians 
deprived  of  protectors — "God  is  so  high,  and  the  Emperor  so 
far  off!" 

Here,  then,  is  the  Greek  church  busy  making  martyrs.    What 

*  The  Uniates  are  Greeks  reunited  to  the  Catholic  Church,  and  there- 
fore regarded  as  schismatics  by  the  Greek  Church. 


462  SUPERIORITY    OF   REPRESENTATIVE    GOVERNMENT. 

has  become  of  the  toleration  of  which  it  boasts  before  men  who 
are  ignorant  of  the  East  ?  Glorious  confessors  of  the  Catholic 
faith  are  now  languishing  in  convent  prisons  ;  and  their  struggle, 
admirable  in  the  eyes  of  Heaven,  remains  unknown  even  to  the 
Church  for  whom  they  generously  fight  upon  earth, — that  Church 
which  is  the  mother  of  all  the  Churches,  and  the  only  Church 
universal ;  for  it  is  the  only  one  untainted  by  locality,  the  only 
one  which  remains  free,  and  which  belongs  to  no  particular 
country.* 

When  the  sun  of  publicity  shall  rise  upon  Russia,  how  many 
injustices  will  it  expose  to  view  ! — not  only  ancient  ones,  but 
those  which  are  still  enacted  daily  will  shock  the  senses  of  the 
world.  They  will  not  be  sufficiently  shocked ;  for  such  is  the 
fate  of  truth  upon  earth,  that  so  long  as  people  have  a  great 
interest  in  knowing  it,  they  remain  ignorant  of  it,  and  when  at 
last  they  have  their  eyes  opened,  it  has  become  to  them  no  longer 
a  matter  of  importance.  The  abuses  of  a  destroyed  power  excite 
only  cold  exclamations :  those  who  recount  them,  pass  for  un- 
generous strikers  of  the  slain ;  whilst  on  the  other  hand,  the 
excesses  of  this  iniquitous  power  remain  carefully  concealed  so 
long  as  it  maintains  itself;  for  its  first  aim  is  to  stifle  the  cries 
of  its  victim  :  it  exterminates,  but  avoids  lightly  wounding  ;  and 
applauds  itself  for  its  mercy  in  having  recourse  to  none  save  in- 
dispensable cruelties.  But  its  boasting  is  hypocritical :  when 
the  prison  is  as  silent  and  closely  shut  as  the  tomb,  there  is  no 
mercy  in  saving  from  the  scaffold. 

I  left  France  scared  by  the  abuses  of  a  false  liberty ;  I  return 
to  my  country  persuaded  that  if,  logically  speaking,  the  repre- 
sentative system  is  not  the  most  moral  form  of  government,  it  is 
practically  the  most  wise  and  moderate ;  preserving  the  people 
on  one  side  from  democratic  licence,  and  on  the  other,  from  the 
most  glaring  abuses  of  despotism  :  I  therefore  ask  myself  if  we 
ought  not  to  impose  a  silence  upon  our  antipathies,  and  submit 
without  murmur  to  a  necessary  policy,  and  one  which,  after  all, 
brings  to  nations  prepared  for  it,  more  good  than  evil.  It  is  true 
that  hitherto  this  new  and  wise  form  of  government  has  only  been 
able  to  establish  itself  by  usurpation.  Perhaps  these  final  usur- 
pations have  been  rendered  inevitable  by  preceding  errors.  This 
is  a  religious  question,  which  time,  the  wisest  of  God's  ministers 
upon  earth,  will  resolve  to  our  posterity.  I  am  here  reminded  of 

*  Has  it  not  taken  three  years  to  carry  to  Rome  the  cry  of  these  un- 
fortunate beings  ? 


AUTHOR'S  FEELINGS  ON  ESCAPING  FROM  RUSSIA.         463 

the  profound  idea  of  one  of  the  most  enlightened  and  cultivated 
intellects  in  Germany,  M.  Varnhagen  von  der  Ense  : 

"  I  have  often  laboured,"  he  wrote  to  me  one  day,  "  to  dis- 
cover who  were  the  prime  movers  of  revolutions;  and,  after 
thirty  years'  meditation,  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  my 
earliest  opinion  was  right,  and  that  they  are  caused  by  the  men 
against  whom  they  are  directed." 

Never  shall  I  forget  my  feelings  in  travelling  from  Niemen  to 
Tilsit :  it  was  more  especially  then  that  I  did  justice  to  the  obser- 
vation of  my  host  at  Liibeck.  A  bird  escaped  from  its  cage  could 
not  have  been  more  joyous.  I  can  speak  and  write  all  that  I 
think :  I  am  free !  were  my  exulting  exclamations.  The  first 
real  letter  that  I  despatched  to  Paris  was  sent  from  this  frontier : 
it  would  cause  quite  a  sensation  in  the  little  circle  of  my  friends, 
who,  until  they  received  it,  had,  no  doubt,  been  the  dupes  of  my 
official  correspondence.  The  following  is  the  copy  of  that  letter  : 

Tilsit,  Thursday,  26tli  September,  1839. 

"  You  will,  I  hope,  have  as  much  pleasure  in  reading  the  above 
date  as  I  have  in  writing  it ;  here  am  I  beyond  the  empire  of 
uniformity,  minutiae,  and  difficulties.  I  hear  the  language  of 
freedom,  and  I  feel  as  if  in  a  vortex  of  pleasure,  a  world  carried 
away  by  new  ideas  towards  inordinate  liberty.  And  yet  I  am 
only  in  Prussia  :  but  in  leaving  Russia,  I  have  again  found  houses 
the  plan  of  which  has  not  been  dictated  to  a  slave  by  an  inflexible 
master,  but  which  are  freely  built :  I  see  a  lively  country  freely 
cultivated  (it  is  of  Prussia  I  am  speaking),  and  the  change  warms 
and  gladdens  my  heart. 

"  In  short,  I  breathe  !  I  can  write  to  you  without  carefully 
guarding  my  words  for  fear  of  the  police — a  precaution  almost 
always  insufficient ;  for  there  is  as  much  of  the  susceptibility  of 
self-love  as  of  political  prudence  in  the  espionnage  of  the  Russians. 
Russia  is  the  most  gloomy  country,  and  is  inhabited  by  the  most 
handsome  men  that  I  have  ever  beheld:  a  country  in  which 
women  are  scarcely  seen,  cannot  be  gay.  Here  I  am,  escaped 
from  it,  and  without  the  smallest  accident.  I  have  travelled  two 
hundred  and  fifty  leagues  in  four  days,  by  roads  often  wretched, 
often  magnificent ;  for  the  Russian  spirit,  friend  as  it  is  to  uni- 
formity, cannot  attain  a  real  state  of  order :  the  characteristics  of 
its  administration  are  meddlesomeness,  negligence  and  corrup- 
tion. A  sincere  man  in  the  Empire  of  the  Czar  would  pass  for 
a  fool. 

"  I  have  now  a  journey  of  two  hundred  leagues  to  perform 


464     REASONS  FOB  NOT  RETURNING  THROUGH  POLAND. 

before  I  reach  Berlin ;  but  I  look  forward  to  it  as  a  mere  excur- 
sion of  pleasure." 

Good  roads  throughout  the  distance,  good  inns,  beds  on  which 
one  may  lie  down,  the  order  of  houses  managed  by  women — all 
seemed  delightful  and  novel.  I  was  particularly  struck  with  the 
varied  architecture  of  the  buildings,  the  air  of  freedom  in  the 
peasants,  and  the  gaiety  of  the  female  sex  among  them.  Their 
good  humour  inspired  me  with  a  kind  of  fear ;  it  was  an  inde- 
pendence, the  consequences  of  which  I  dreaded  for  them,  for  I 
had  myself  almost  lost  the  memory  of  it.  I  saw  towns  built 
spontaneously,  before  any  government  had  imagined  a  plan  of 
them.  Ducal  Prussia  does  not  assuredly  pass  for  a  land  of  licence ; 
and  yet,  in  passing  through  the  streets  of  Tilsit,  and  afterwards 
those  of  Konigsberg,  I  should  have  fancied  myself  at  a  Venetian 
carnival.  My  feelings  brought  to  my  memory  a  German  of  my 
acquaintance,  who,  after  having  been  obliged,  by  business,  to  pass 
whole  years  in  Russia,  was  at  last  able  to  leave  that  country  for 
ever.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  friend  ;  and  had  scarcely  set 
foot  on  the  deck  of  an  English  vessel,  which  was  about  to  weigh 
anchor,  when  he  threw  himself  into  his  companion's  arms,  ex- 
claiming, "  God  be  praised,  we  may  now  breathe  freely  and  speak 
openly  !  " 

Many  people  have,  doubtless,  felt  the  same  sensation  :  but 
why  has  no  traveller  before  recorded  it  ?  Here,  without  compre- 
hending, I  marvel  at  the  prestige  which  the  Russian  government 
exercises  over  minds.  It  obtains  silence,  not  only  from  its  own 
subjects — that  were  little, — but  it  makes  itself  respected,  even 
at  a  distance,  by  strangers  escaped  from  its  iron  discipline.  The 
traveller  either  praises  it  or  is  silent :  this  is  a  mystery  which  I 
cannot  comprehend.  If  ever  the  publication  of  this  journey 
should  procure  me  the  explanation  of  the  marvel,  I  shall  have 
additional  reason  to  applaud  myself  for  my  sincerity. 

I  had  purposed  returning  from  Petersburg  into  Germany,  by 
way  of  Wilna  and  Warsaw  ;  but  I  changed  that  project. 

Miseries  like  those  which  Poland  suffers  cannot  be  attributed 
entirely  to  fatality :  in  prolonged  misfortunes,  we  may  always 
look  to  faults  as  well  as  to  circumstances.  To  a  certain  point, 
nations,  like  individuals,  become  accomplices  of  the  fate  which 
pursues  them  ;  they  appear  accountable  for  the  reverses  which, 
blow  after  blow,  they  have  to  suffer  :  for,  to  attentive  eyes,  des- 
tinies are  only  the  development  of  characters.  On  perceiving 
the  result  of  the  errors  of  a  people  punished  with  so  much  sever- 


RETURN   TO    EMS.  465 

ity,  I  might  not  be  able  to  abstain  from  reflections  of  which  I 
should  repent.  To  represent  their  case  to  the  oppressors  would 
be  a  task  we  should  impose  upon  ourselves  with  a  kind  of  joy, 
sustained,  as  we  should  feel,  by  the  idea  of  courage  and  generos- 
ity which  attaches  to  the  accomplishment  of  a  perilous,  or,  at 
least,  painful  duty  :  but  to  wound  the  heart  of  the  victim,  to 
overwhelm  the  oppressed,  though  even  with  deserved  strokes, 
with  just  reproaches,  is  an  executioner's  office,  to  which  the  author 
who  does  not  despise  his  own  pen  will  never  abase  himself. 

This  was  my  reason  for  renouncing  my  proposed  journey 
through  Poland. 


CHAPTER  XXXIIL* 

Return  to  Ems. — Autumn  in  the  Vicinity  of  the  Rhine — Comparison  between  Russian  and 
German  Scenery  —The  Youth  of  the  Soul. — Definition  of  Misanthropy. — Mistake  of  the 
Traveller  regarding  Russia  — Resum6  of  the  Journey.— A  Last  Portrait  of  Russia  and  the 
Russians.— Secret  of  their  Policy. — A  Glance  at  the  Christian  Churches.— The  Task  of  the 
Author. — Danger  of  speaking  of  the  Greek  Church  in  Russia. — Parallel  between  Spain  and 
Russia. 

I  LEFT  Ems  for  Russia  five  months  ago,  and  return  to  this  ele- 
gant village  after  having  made  a  tour  of  some  thousand  leagues. 
My  stay  here  during  the  previous  spring  was  disagreeable  to  me 
by  reason  of  the  crowd  of  bathers  and  drinkers  :  I  find  it  deli- 
cious now  that  I  am  literally  alone,  with  nothing  to  do  but  to 
enjoy  a  beautiful  autumn  sky  in  the  midst  of  mountains  the  soli- 
tude of  which  I  admire ;  and  to  review  my  recollections,  while  I 
at  the  same  time  seek  the  repose  I  need  after  the  rapid  journey 
just  completed. 

With  what  a  contrast  am  I  presented  !  In  Russia  I  was  de- 
prived of  all  the  scenes  of  nature  ;  for  I  cannot  give  the  name  of 
nature  to  solitudes  without  one  picturesque  object, — to  seas, 
lakes,  and  rivers,  whose  banks  are  on  a  level  with  the  water ;  to 
marshes  without  bounds,  and  steppes  without  vegetation,  under  a 
sky  without  light.  Those  plains  are  not,  indeed,  devoid  of  a  kind 
of  beauty;  but  grandeur  without  grace  soon  fatigues.  What 
pleasure  can  the  traveller  have  in  traversing  immense  spaces, 
where  the  surface  and  horizon  are  always  destitute  of  feature  ? 
Such  monotony  aggravates  the  fatigue  of  locomotion,  by  render- 
ing it  fruitless.  Surprises  must  always  constitute  a  great  portion 

*  Written  at  Ems,  October,  1839. 
20* 


466  AUTUMN  ON  THE  RHINE. 

of  the  enjoyment  of  travelling ;  and  the  hope  of  them  must  always 
furnish  much  of  the  stimulus  that  keeps  alive  the  zeal  of  the 
traveller. 

It  is  with  sensations  of  real  happiness  that  I  find  myself,  at  the 
close  of  the  season,  in  a  varied  and  beautiful  country.  I  cannot 
express  the  delight  with  which  I  stray,  and  for  a  moment  lose 
myself  among  large  woods,  where  showers  of  leaves  have  strewed 
the  earth  and  obliterated  the  paths.  I  am  carried  back  to  the  de- 
scriptions of  Rene  :  and  my  heart  beats  as  it  beat  formerly  while 
reading  that  sorrowful  and  sublime  conversation  between  nature 
and  a  human  soul.  That  religious  and  lyrical  prose  has  lost  none 
of  its  power  over  me ;  and  I  have  said  to  myself,  astonished  at  my 
own  easily-affected  feelings,  youth  will  surely  never  end  !  Some- 
times I  perceive  through  the  foliage,  brightened  by  the  first  hoar- 
frost, the  vapoury  distances  of  the  valley  of  the  Lahn,  contiguous 
to  the  most  beautiful  river  in  Europe  ;  and  I  then  especially  ad- 
mire the  grace  and  calm  of  the  landscape. 

The  points  of  view  offered  by  the  ravines  which  serve  as 
channels  for  the  tributaries  of  the  Rhine,  are  infinitely  varied : 
those  of  the  Volga  all  resemble  each  other.  The  aspect  of  the 
elevated  plains  that  are  here  called  mountains,  because  they  sepa- 
rate deep  valleys,  is  in  general  cold  and  monotonous ;  still,  this 
cold  and  monotony  is  light,  life,  and  motion,  after  the  marshes  of 
Muscovy :  the  bright  rays  of  the  sun  spread  a  southern  gladness 
over  the  whole  face  of  the  northern  landscape ;  in  which  the  dry- 
ness  of  the  contour  and  the  stiffness  of  the  broken  lines  are  lost 
amid  the  mists  of  autumn. 

The  repose  of  the  woods  during  the  autumn  season  is  very 
striking :  it  contrasts  with  the  activity  of  the  fields,  among  which, 
man,  warned  by  the  calm  forerunner  of  winter,  hastens  to  com- 
plete his  labours. 

This  instructive  and  solemn  spectacle,  which  is  to  last  as  long 
as  the  world  endures,  interests  me  as  much  as  though  I  had  seen 
it  for  the  first  time,  or  knew  that  I  was  never  to  see  it  again : 
the  intellectual  life  is  nothing  but  a  succession  of  discoveries. 
The  soul,  when  it  has  not  expended  its  vigour  in  the  affectations 
too  habitual  with  people  of  the  world,  preserves  an  inexhaustible 
faculty  of  surprise  and  curiosity ;  new  powers  are  ever  exciting 
it  to  new  efforts ;  this  world  no  longer  suffices  for  it ;  it  summons 
and  it  apprehends  the  infinite ;  its  ideas  ripen,  yet  they  do  not 
proceed  to  decay ;  and  this  it  is  which  intimates  to  us  that  there 
is  something  beyond  the  things  which  are  see* 

It  is  the  intensity  of  our  life  which  forms  its  variety ;  what  is 


DEFINITION    OF    MISANTHROPY.  467 

strongly  felt  always  appears  new:  language  partakes  of  this 
eternal  freshness  of  impressions ;  each  new  affection  imparts  its 
special  harmony  to  the  words  destined  to  express  it :  and  thus  it 
is  that  the  colouring  of  style  is  the  most  certain  test  of  the  no- 
velty— I  might  say,  the  sincerity  of  sentiments.  When  ideas  are 
borrowed,  their  source  is  carefully  concealed;  but  the  harmoni- 
ous flow  of  language  never  deceives, — sure  proof  of  the  sensibi- 
lity of  the  soul.  An  involuntary  revelation — it  bursts  directly 
from  the  heart,  and  speaks  directly  to  the  hearts  of  others :  art 
can  but  imperfectly  supply  it ;  it  is  born  of  emotion :  in  short, 
this  music  of  speech  reaches  beyond  the  ideas  that  it  conveys ; 
it  embodies  also  the  indefinable,  involuntary  extension  of  those 
ideas.  Herein  lies  the  explanation  of  Madame  Sand's  having  so 
quickly  obtained  among  us  the  fame  which  she  deserves. 

Sacred  love  of  solitude,  thou  art  no  less  than  a  real  necessary 
of  mental  life  !  The  world  is  so  false,  that  a  mind  imbued  with 
a  passionate  love  of  truth  must  needs  be  disposed  to  shun  society. 
Misanthropy  is  a  calumniated  sentiment ;  it  is  a  hatred  of  lies. 
There  are  no  misanthropes  j  but  there  are  souls  which  would 
rather  fly  than  feign. 

Alone  with  God,  man  becomes  humble  under  the  influence  of 
internal  sincerity ;  in  his  retreat  he  expiates,  by  silence  and  me- 
ditation, all  the  successful  frauds  of  worldly  spirits,  their  trium- 
phant duplicates,  their  vanities,  their  hidden  and  too  often  re- 
warded treacheries  :  incapable  of  being  duped,  unwilling  to  dupe, 
he  becomes  a  voluntary  victim,  and  conceals  himself  with  as  much 
care  as  the  courtiers  of  fashion  take  to  display  themselves.  Such 
is  undoubtedly  the  secret  of  the  life  of  saints, — a  secret  easily 
penetrated,  but  a  life  difficult  to  imitate.  Were  I  a  saint  I 
should  no  longer  feel  curiosity  in  travelling,  nor  yet  a  desire  to 
relate  my  travels.  I  am  seeking :  the  saints  have  found. 

While  thus  seeking,  I  have  surveyed  the  Russian  Empire. 
I  hoped  to  see  a  country  where  should  reign  the  calm  of  a  power 
assured  of  its  own  strength :  but  arrived  there,  I  found  only  the 
reign  of  silence  maintained  by  fear ;  and  I  have  drawn  from  the 
spectacle  a  lesson  very  different  from  the  one  which  I  went  to 
seek.  Russia  is  a  world  scarcely  known  to  foreigners  :  the  Rus- 
sians who  travel  to  escape  it,  pay,  when  at  a  distance,  in  crafty 
encomiums,  their  tribute  to  their  country ;  and  the  greater  num- 
ber of  travellers  who  have  described  it  to  us  have  been  unwilling 
to  discover  in  it  anything  but  that  which  they  sought  to  find. 
If  people  will  defend  their  prejudices  against  evidence,  where  is 
the  good  of  travelling  ?  When  thus  determined  to  view  nations 


468  RESUME  OF  THE  JOURNEY. 

as  they  wish  to  view  them,  there  is  no  necessity  for  leaving  their 
own  country. 


The  following  is  the  resume  of  my  journey,  written  since  my 
return  to  Ems. 

In  Russia,  all  that  strikes  the  eye,  every  thing  that  passes 
around,  bears  the  impress  of  a  regularity  that  is  startling  ;  and 
the  first  thought  that  enters  the  mind  of  the  traveller,  when  he 
contemplates  this  symmetrical  system,  is  that  a  uniformity  so 
complete,  a  regularity  so  contrary  to  the  natural  inclinations  of 
men,  cannot  have  been  established,  and  cannot  be  maintained 
except  by  violence.  Imagination  vainly  implores  a  little  variety, 
like  a  bird  uselessly  beating  its  wings  against  a  cage.  Under 
such  a  system  a  man  may  know  the  first  day  of  his  life  all  that 
he  will  see  and  do  until  the  last.  This  hard  tyranny  is  called  in 
official  language,  respect  of  unity,  love  of  order ;  and  it  is  a 
fruit  of  despotism  so  precious  to  methodical  minds,  that  they 
think  they  cannot  pay  too  dear  for  it. 

In  France,  I  had  imagined  myself  in  accord  with  these  rigo- 
rous disciplinarians  ;  but  since  I  have  lived  under  a  despotism 
which  imposes  military  rule  upon  the  population  of  an  entire 
empire,  I  confess  that  I  have  learnt  to  prefer  a  little  of  the 
disorder  which  announces  vigour  to  the  perfect  order  which  de- 
stroys life. 

In  Russia,  the  government  interferes  with  every  thing  and 
vivifies  nothing.  In  that  immense  empire,  the  people,  if  not 
tranquil,  are  mute;  death  hovers  over  all  heads,  and  strikes 
capriciously  whom  it  pleases :  man  there  has  two  coffins,  the 
cradle  and  the  tomb.  The  Russian  mothers  ought  to  weep  the 
birth  more  than  the  death  of  their  children. 

I  do  not  believe  that  suicide  is  common  there  :  the  people 
.suffer  too  much  to  kill  themselves.  Singular  disposition  of  man  ! 
— when  terror  presides  over  his  life,  he  does  not  seek  death ;  he 
knows  what  it  is  already.* 

*  Dickens  says — speaking  of  the  solitary  prison  of  Philadelphia — "  Sui- 
cides are  rare  among  the  prisoners;  are  almost,  indeed,  unknown.  But 
no  argument  in  favour  of  the  system  can  reasonably  be  deduced  from  this 
circumstance,  although  it  is  very  often  urged.  All  men  who  have  made 
diseases  of  the  mind  their  study,  know  perfectly  well  that  such  extreme 
.depression  and  despair,  as  to  change  the  whole  character,  and  beat  down 
all  its  powers  of  elasticity  and  self-resistance,  may  be  at  work  within  a 


A    LAST    PORTRAIT    OF    RUSSIA    AND    THE    RUSSIANS.  469 

But  if  the  number  of  suicides  in  Russia  were  ever  so  great, 
no  one  would  know  it ;  the  knowledge  of  numbers  is  a  privilege 
of  the  Russian  police  :  I  am  ignorant  whether  they  arrive  correct 
before  the  eyes  of  the  Emperor;  but  I  do  know  that  no  misfor- 
tune is  published  under  his  reign  until  he  has  consented  to  the 
humiliating  confession  of  the  superiority  of  Providence.  The 
pride  of  despotism  is  so  great  that  it  seeks  to  rival  the  power  of 
God.  Monstrous  jealousy  !  into  what  aberrations  hast  thou  not 
plunged  princes  and  subjects  !  Who  will  dare  to  love  truth,  who 
will  defend  it  in  a  country  where  idolatry  is  the  principle  of  the 
constitution  ?  A  man  who  can  do  every  thing  is  the  crowned 
impersonification  of  a  lie. 

It  will  be  understood  that  I  am  not  now  speaking  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas,  but  of  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  We  often  hear 
mention  made  of  customs  which  limit  his  power :  I  have  been 
struck  with  its  abuse,  but  have  seen  no  remedy. 

In  the  eyes  of  real  statesmen,  and  of  all  practical  minds,  the 
laws  are,  I  admit,  less  important  than  our  precise  logicians  and 
political  philosophers  believe  them;  for  it  is  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  applied  that  decides  the  life  of  the  people.  True ;  but 
the  life  of  the  Russian  people  is  more  gloomy  than  that  of  any 
other  of  the  European  nations ;  and  when  I  say  the  people,  I 
speak  not  only  of  the  peasants  attached  to  the  soil,  but  of  the 
whole  empire. 

A  government  that  makes  profession  of  being  vigorous,  and 
that  causes  itself  to  be  dreaded  on  every  occasion,  must  inevitably 
render  men  miserable.  Wherever  the  public  machine  is  rigor- 
ously exact,  there  is  despotism,  whatever  be  the  fiction,  mo- 
narchiacl  or  democratical,  which  covers  it.  The  best  government 
is  that  which  makes  itself  the  least  felt ;  but  such  lightness  of 
the  yoke  is  only  procured  by  the  labours  of  genius  and  superior 
wisdom,  or  by  a  certain  relaxation  of  social  discipline.  Govern- 
ments, which  were  beneficent  in  the  youth  of  nations,  when  men, 
still  half  savages,  honoured  every  thing  that  snatched  them  from 
a  state  of  disorder,  become  so  again  in  the  old  age  of  communities. 
At  that  epoch  is  seen  the  birth  of  mixed  institutions.  But  these 
institutions,  founded  on  a  compact  between  experience  and  pas- 

mnn,  and  yet  sfop  short  of  self-destruction." — American  Notes  for  General 
Circulation. 

The  great  writer,  the  profound  moralist,  the  Christian  philosopher 
from  whom  I  borrow  these  lines,  has  not  only  the  authority  of  talent, 
and  of  a  style  which  engraves  his  thoughts  on  brass,  but  his  opinion 
on  this  particular  subject  is  law. 


470  LAST    PORTRAIT    OF    THE    RUSSIANS. 

sion,  can  suit  none  but  already  wearied  populations,  societies,  th» 
springs  of  which  are  weakened  by  revolutions.  From  this  it 
may  be  concluded  that  if  they  are  not  the  most  powerful  of  politi- 
cal systems,  they  are  the  most  gentle :  the  people  who  have  once 
obtained  them  cannot  too  carefully  strive  to  prolong  their  dura- 
tion, fruits  as  they  are  of  a  green  old  age.  The  old  age  of  states, 
like  that  of  men,  is  the  most  peaceable  period  of  existence, 
when  it  crowns  a  glorious  life ;  but  the  middle  age  of  a  na- 
tion is  always  a  time  of  trial  and  violence :  Russia  is  passing 
through  it. 

In  this  country,  which  differs  from  all  others,  nature  herself 
has  become  an  accomplice  in  the  caprices  of  the  man  who  has 
slain  liberty  to  deify  unity ;  it,  too,  is  everywhere  the  same :  two 
kinds  of  scattered  and  stunted  trees,  the  birch  and  the  pine, 
spread  over  plains  always  either  sandy  or  marshy,  are  the  only 
features  on  the  face  of  nature  throughout  that  immense  expanse 
of  country  which  constitutes  Northern  Russia. 

What  refuge  is  there  against  the  evils  of  society  in  a  climate 
under  which  men  cannot  enjoy  the  country,  such  as  it  is,  for  more 
than  three  months  of  the  year  ?  Add  to  this,  that  during  the  six 
most  inclement  of  the  winter  months,  they  dare  not  breathe  the 
free  air  for  more  than  two  hours  in  the  day.  Such  is  the  lot  that 
heaven  has  assigned  to  man  in  these  regions. 

Let  us  see  what  man  has  done  for  himself :  St.  Petersburg  is 
unquestionably  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world ;  Moscow  is  also 
a  very  picturesque  city ;  but  what  can  be  said  of  the  aspect  of 
the  provinces  ? 

The  excess  of  uniformity  engendered  by  the  abuse  of  unity 
will  be  seen  described  in  my  chapters.  The  absence  of  soul 
betrays  itself  in  every  thing :  each  step  that  you  take  proves  to 
you  that  you  are  among  a  people  deprived  of  independence. 
At  every  twenty  or  thirty  leagues,  the  same  town  greets  your 
eyes. 

The  passion  of  both  princes  and  people  for  classic  architec- 
ture, for  straight  lines,  buildings  of  low  elevation,  and  wide 
streets,  is  a  contradiction  of  the  laws  of  nature  and  the  wants  of 
life  in  a  cold,  misty  region,  frequently  exposed  to  storms  of  wind 
which  case  the  visage  in  ice.  Throughout  my  journey,  I  was 
constantly  but  vainly  endeavouring  to  account  for  this  mania 
among  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  so  different  from  those  lands 
whence  the  architecture  has  been  borrowed  :  the  Russians  cannot 
probably  explain  it  any  better  than  I,  for  they  are  no  more  mas- 
ters of  their  tastes  than  of  their  actions.  The  fine  arts,  as  they 


TASK    OF    THE   RUSSIANS.  47 1 

call  them,  have  been  imposed  on  the  people,  just  like  the  military 
exercise.  The  regiment,  and  its  spirit  of  minuteness,  is  the 
mould  of  Russian  society. 

Lofty  ramparts,  high  and  crowded  edifices,  the  winding  streets 
of  the  cities  of  the  middle  ages,  would  have  suited  better  than 
caricatures  of  the  antique,  the  climate  and  the  customs  of  Mus- 
covy ;  but  the  country,  the  wants  and  genius  of  which  are  least 
consulted  by  the  Russians,  is  the  country  they  occupy. 

When  Peter  the  Great  published  from  Tartary  to  Lapland  his 
edicts  of  civilisation,  the  creations  of  the  middle  ages  had  long 
been  out  of  date  in  Europe ;  and  the  Russians,  even  those  that 
have  been  called  great,  have  never  known  how  to  do  more  than 
follow  the  fashion. 

Such  disposition  to  imitate  scarcely  accords  with  the  ambition 
which  we  attribute  to  them ;  for  man  does  not  rule  the  things 
that  he  copies  ;  but  every  thing  is  contradictory  in  the  character 
of  this  superficial  people  :  besides,  a  want  of  invention  is  their 
peculiar  characteristic.  To  invent,  thers  must  be  independence  ; 
in  them,  mimicry  may  be  seen  pervading  the  very  passions  :  if 
they  wish  to  take  their  turn  on  the  scene  of  the  world,  it  is  not 
to  employ  faculties  which  they  possess,  and  the  inaction  of  which 
torments  them  ;  it  is  simply  to  act  over  the  history  of  illustrious 
communities:  they  have  no  creative  power;  comparison  is  their 
talent,  imitation  is  their  genius :  naturally  given  to  observation, 
they  are  not  themselves  except  when  aping  the  creations  of  others. 
Such  originality  as  they  have  lies  in  the  gift  of  counterfeit,  which 
they  possess  more  amply  than  any  other  people.  Their  only 
primitive  faculty  is  an  aptitude  to  reproduce  the  inventions  of 
foreigners.  They  would  be  in  history  what  they  are  in  literature, 
able  translators.  The  task  of  the  Russians  is  to  translate  Euro- 
pean civilisation  to  the  Asiatics. 

The  talent  of  imitation  may  become  useful  and  even  admira- 
ble in  nations,  provided  it  developes  itself  late  ;  but  it  destroys  all 
the  other  talents  when  it  precedes  them.  Russia  is  a  community 
of  copyists ;  and  every  man  who  can  do  nothing  else  but  copy 
necessarily  falls  into  caricature. 

Oscillating  for  the  space  of  four  centuries  between  Europe  and 
Asia,  Russia  has  not  yet  succeeded  in  distinguishing  itself  by  its 
works  in  the  field  of  human  intellect,  because  its  national  charac- 
teristics are  lost  under  its  borrowed  decorations. 

Separated  from  the  West  by  its  adherence  to  the  Greek  schism, 
it  returns,  after  many  centuries,  with  the  inconsistency  of  a  blind 
self-love,  to  demand  from  nations  formed  by  Catholicism  the 


472  THE    STUDY    OF    ANCIENT    MODELS. 

civilisation  of  which  a  religion  entirely  political  has  deprived  it. 
This  Byzantine  religion,  which  has  issued  from  a  palace  to  main- 
tain order  in  a  camp,  does  not  respond  to  the  most  sublime  wants 
of  the  human  soul ;  it  helps  the  police  to  deceive  the  nation,  but 
that  is  the  extent  of  its  power. 

It  has,  in  advance,  rendered  the  people  unworthy  of  the  culture 
to  which  they  aspire. 

The  independence  of  the  church  is  necessary  to  the  motion  of 
the  religious  sap ;  for  the  development  of  the  noblest  faculty  of  a 
people,  the  faculty  of  believing,  depends  on  the  dignity  of  the 
man  charged  with  communicating  to  his  fellow  men  the  divine 
revelations.  The  humiliation  of  the  ministers  of  religion  is  the 
first  punishment  of  heresy ;  and  thus  it  is  that  in  all  schismatic 
countries  the  priest  is  despised  by  the  people,  in  spite  of,  or  rather 
because  of,  the  protection  of  the  prince.  People  who  understand 
their  liberty  will  never  obey,  from  the  bottom  of  their  hearts,  a 
dependent  clergy. 

The  time  is  not  far  distant  when  it  will  be  acknowledged  that, 
in  matters  of  religion,  what  is  more  essential  even  than  obtaining 
the  liberty  of  the  flock,  is  the  assuring  that  of  the  pastor. 

The  multitude  always  obey  the  men  whom  they  take  for  guides . 
be  they  priests,  doctors,  poets,  sages,  or  tyrants,  the  minds  of  the 
people  are  in  their  hands ;  religious  liberty  for  the  mass  is  there- 
fore a  chimera ;  but  it  is  on  this  account  the  more  important  that 
the  man  charged  with  performing  the  office  of  priest  for  them 
should  be  free :  now,  there  is  not  in  the  world  an  independent 
priest  except  the  Catholic. 

Slavish  pastors  can  only  guide  barren  minds :  a  Greek  pope 
will  never  do  more  than  instruct  a  people  to  prostrate  themselves 
before  violent  power.  Let  me  not  be  asked,  then,  whence  it  comes 
that  the  Russians  have  no  imagination,  and  how  it  is  that  they 
only  copy  imperfectly. 

When,  in  the  West,  the  descendants  of  the  barbarians  studied 
the  ancients  with  a  veneration  that  partook  of  idolatry,  they  mod- 
ified them  in  order  to  appropriate  them.  Who  can  recognise 
Virgil  in  Dante,  or  Homer  in  Tasso,  or  Justinian  and  the  Roman 
laws  in  the  codes  of  feudalism  ?  The  passionate  respect  then 
professed  for  the  past,  far  from  stifling  genius,  aroused  it :  but  it 
is  not  thus  that  the  Russians  have  availed  themselves  of  us. 

When  a  people  counterfeit  the  social  forms  of  another  com- 
munity, without  penetrating  into  the  spirit  which  animates  it — 
when  they  seek  lessons  in  civilisation,  not  from  the  ancient  found- 
ers of  human  institutions,  but  from  strangers  whose  riches  they 


NATIONAL    ILLUSION.        -  473 

envy  without  respecting  their  character — when  their  imitation  is 
hostile,  and  yet  falls  into  puerile  precision — when  they  borrow 
from  a  neighbour,  whom  they  affect  to  disdain,  even  the  very 
modes  of  dress  and  of  domestic  life,  they  become  a  mere  echo,  a 
reflection  ;  they  exist  no  longer  for  themselves. 

The  society  of  the  middle  ages  could  adore  antiquity  without 
being  in  danger  of  parodying  it ;  because  creative  power,  when 
it  exists,  is  never  lost,  whatever  use  man  may  put  it  to.  What  a 
store  of  imagination  is  displayed  in  the  erudition  of  the  fifteenth 
century ! 

A  respect  for  models  is  the  seal  of  creative  genius. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  studies  of  the  classics  in  the  West,  at  the 
epoch  of  their  arrival,  scarcely  influenced  any  thing  beyond  the 
belles-lettres  and  the  fine  arts ;  the  development  of  industry,  of 
commerce,  of  the  natural  and  the  exact  sciences,  is  solely  the  work 
of  modern  Europe,  which  has  drawn  nearly  all  the  materials  of 
these  things  out  of  her  own  resources.  The  superstitious  admira- 
tion which  she  long  professed  for  pagan  literature  has  not  prevented 
her  politics,  her  religion,  her  philosophy,  her  forms  of  government, 
her  modes  of  war,  her  ideas  of  honour,  her  manners,  her  spirit,  her 
social  habits,  from  being  her  own. 

Russia  alone,  more  recently  civilised,  has  been  deprived  by  the 
impatience  of  her  Chiefs,  of  an  essential  fermenting  process,  and  of 
the  benefits  of  a  slow  and  natural  culture. 

The  internal  labour  which  forms  a  great  people,  and  renders 
them  fit  to  rule,  has  been  wanting.  The  nation  will  for  ever  feel 
the  effects  of  this  absence  of  a  proper  life  that  marked  the  epoch 
of  their  political  awakening.  Adolescence,  that  laborious  age  in 
which  the  spirit  of  man  assumes  all  the  responsibility  of  its 
independence,  was  lost  to  them.  Their  princes,  especially  Peter 
the  Great,  paying  no  respect  to  time,  suddenly  and  forcibly  made 
them  pass  from  a  state  of  infancy  to  a  state  of  virility.  Scarcely 
yet  escaped  from  a  foreign  yoke,  every  thing  that  was  not  Mongol 
seemed  to  them  liberty  ;  and  it  was  thus  that,  in  the  joy  of  their 
inexperience,  they  accepted  servitude  itself  as  a  deliverance, 
because  imposed  upon  them  by  their  legitimate  sovereigns.  The 
people,  already  debased  by  slavery,  were  sufficiently  happy,  suf- 
ficiently independent,  if  only  their  tyrant  bore  a  Russian  instead 
of  a  Tartar  name. 

The  effect  of  such  an  illusion  still  remains  :  originality  of 
thought  has  shunned  this  soil,  of  which  the  children,  broken  into 
slavery,  have  only  seriously  imbibed,  even  at  the  present  day, 
two  sentiments,  terror  and  ambition.  What  is  fashion  for  them, 


474  PETER    THE    GREAT. 

except  an  elegant  chain  worn  only  in  public  ?  Russian  polite- 
ness, however  well  acted  it  may  be,  is  more  ceremonious  than 
natural ;  for  urbanity  is  a  flower  that  can  blossom  only  on  the 
summit  of  the  social  tree  :  this  plant  will  not  graft ;  it  must  strike 
its  own  roots,  and  its  stalk,  like  those  of  the  aloe,  is  centuries  in 
shooting  up.  Many  generations  of  semi-barbarians  have  to  die 
in  a  land  before  the  upper  stratum  of  the  social  earth  gives  birth 
to  men  really  polite.  Many  ages,  teeming  with  memories  and 
associations,  are  essential  to  the  education  of  a  civilised  people  : 
the  mind  of  a  child  born  of  polished  parents  can  alone  ripen  fast 
enough  to  understand  all  the  reality  that  there  is  in  politeness. 
It  is  a  secret  interchange  of  voluntary  sacrifices.  Nothing  can 
be  more  delicate,  or,  it  might  be  said,  more  truly  moral,  than  the 
principles  which  constitute  perfect  elegance  of  manners.  Such 
politeness,  to  resist  the  trial  of  the  passions,  cannot  be  altogether 
distinct  from  that  elevation  of  sentiment  which  no  man  acquires 
by  himself  alone,  for  it  is  more  especially  upon  the  soul  that  the 
influences  of  early  education  operate ;  in  a  word,  true  urbanity  is 
a  heritage.  Whatever  little  value  the  present  age  may  place  on 
time,  nature,  in  its  works,  places  a  great  deal.  Formerly,  a 
certain  refinement  of  taste  characterised  the  Russians  of  the 
South ;  and,  owing  to  the  relations  kept  up  during  the  most 
barbarous  ages  with  Constantinople  by  the  sovereigns  of  Kiew,  a 
love  of  the  arts  reigned  in  that  part  of  the  Sclavonian  empire ;  at 
the  same  time  that  the  traditions  of  the  East,  maintained  there  a 
sentiment  of  the  great,  and  perpetuated  a  certain  dexterity  among 
the  artists  and  workmen ;  but  these  advantages,  fruits  of  ancient 
relations  with  a  people  advanced  in  a  civilisation  inherited 
from  antiquity,  were  lost  during  the  invasion  of  the  Mongols. 

That  crisis  forced  primitive  Russia  to  forget  its  history. 
Slavery  debases  in  a  manner  that  excludes  true  politeness,  which 
is  incompatible  with  any  thing  servile,  for  it  is  the  expression  of 
the  most  elevated  and  delicate  sentiments.  It  is  only  when 
politeness  becomes,  so  to  speak,  a  current  coin  among  an  entire 
people,  that  such  a  people  can  be  said  to  be  civilised ;  the  primi- 
tive rudeness,  the  brutal  personalities  of  human  nature,  are  then 
attacked  from  the  cradle  by  the  lessons  which  each  individual 
receives  in  his  family  :  the  child  of  man  is  not  human;  and  if  he 
is  not  at  the  commencement  of  life  turned  from  his  cruel  in- 
clinations, he  will  never  be  really  polite.  Politeness  is  only  the 
code  of  pity  applied  to  the  every-day  affairs  of  society;  this  code 
more  especially  inculcates  pity  for  the  sufferings  of  self-love  ;  it 
is  also  the  most  universal,  the  most  appropriate,  and  the  most 
practical  remedy  that  has  been  hitherto  found  against  egotism. 


THE    EMPEROR    NICHOLAS.  475 

Whatever  pretensions  may  be  made,  all  these  refinements, 
natural  results  of  the  work  of  time,  are  unknown  to  the  present 
Russians,  who  seem  to  remember  Sarai  much  better  than  Con- 
stantinople, and  who,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  still  nothing 
better  than  well  dressed  barbarians.  They  remind  me  of  portraits 
badly  painted,  but  very  highly  varnished. 

It  was  Peter  the  Great,  who,  with  all  the  imprudence  of  an 
untaught  genius,  all  the  temerity  of  a  man  the  more  impatient 
because  deemed  omnipotent,  with  all  the  perseverance  of  an  iron 
character,  sought  to  snatch  from  Europe  the  plants  of  an  already 
ripened  civilisation,  instead  of  resigning  himself  to  the  slow 
process  of  sowing  the  seeds  in  his  own  soil.  That  too  highly 
lauded  man  produced  a  merely  artificial  work ;  it  may  be  astonish- 
ing, but  the  good  done  by  his  barbarous  genius  was  transient, 
the  evil  is  irreparable. 

How  does  a  power  to  influence  the  politics  of  Europe  benefit 
Russia  ?  Factitious  interests  !  vain,  foolish  passions  !  Its  real 
interests  are  to  have  within  itself  the  principles  of  life,  and  to 
develope  them :  a  nation  which  possesses  nothing  within  itself 
but  obedience  does  not  live.  The  nation  of  which  I  speak  has 
been  posted  at  the  window ;  it  looks  out — it  listens — it  feels 
like  a  man  witnessing  some  exhibition.  When  will  this  game 


cease 


Russia  ought  not  only  to  stop,  but  to  begin  anew :  is  such  an 
effort  possible  ?  can  so  vast  an  edifice  be  taken  to  pieces  and  re- 
constructed ?  The  too  recent  civilization  of  the  empire,  entirely 
artificial  as  it  is,  has  already  produced  real  results — results  which 
no  human  power  can  annul :  it  appears  to  me  impossible  to  con- 
trol the  future  state  of  a  people  without  considering  the  present. 
But  the  present,  when  it  has  been  violently  separated  from  the 
past,  bodes  only  evil :  to  avert  that  evil  from  Russia,  by  obliging 
it  to  take  into  account  its  ancient  history,  which  was  the  result 
only  of  its  primitive  character,  will  be  henceforward  the  ungrate- 
ful task,  more  useful  than  brilliant,  of  the  men  called  to  govern 
this  land. 

The  altogether  national  and  highly  practical  genius  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas  has  perceived  the  problem  :  can  he  resolve  it  ? 
I  do  not  think  so  ;  he  does  not  let  enough  be  done — he  trusts  too 
much  to  himself  and  too  little  to  others,  to  succeed ;  for  in  Rus- 
sia, the  most  absolute  will  is  not  powerful  enough  to  accomplish 
good. 

It  is  not  against  a  tyrant,  but  against  tyranny,  that  the  friends 
of  man  have  here  to  struggle.  There  would  be  injustice  in  accu- 


476  THE  TASK  OP  THE  AUTHOR. 

sing  the  Emperor  of  the  miseries  of  the  empire  and  the  vices  of 
the  government :  the  powers  of  a  man  are  not  equal  to  the  task 
imposed  upon  the  sovereign  who  would  suddenly  seek  to  reign  by 
humanity  over  an  inhuman  people. 

He  only  who  has  been  in  Russia,  who  has  seen  close  at  hand 
how  things  are  there  conducted,  can  understand  how  little  the 
man  can  do,  who  is  reputed  capable  of  doing  every  thing ;  and 
how,  more  especially,  his  power  is  limited,  when  it  is  good  that 
he  would  accomplish. 

The  unhappy  consequences  of  the  work  of  Peter  I.  have 
been  still  further  aggravated  under  the  great,  or  rather  the 
long  reign  of  a  woman  who  only  governed  her  people  to  amuse 
herself  and  to  astonish  Europe — Europe,  always  Europe  ! — never 
Russia ! 

Peter  I.  and  Catherine  II.  have  given  to  the  world  a  great 
and  useful  lesson,  for  which  Russia  has  had  to  pay  :  they  have 
shown  to  us  that  despotism  is  never  so  much  to  be  dreaded  as 
when  it  pretends  to  do  good,  for  then  it  thinks  the  most  revolt- 
ing acts  may  be  excused  by  the  intention ;  and  the  evil  that  is 
applied  as  a  remedy  has  no  longer  any  bounds.  Crime  exposed 
to  view  can  triumph  only  for  a  day ;  but  false  virtues  for  ever 
lead  astray  the  minds  of  nations.  People,  dazzled  by  the  bril- 
liant accessories  of  crime,  by  the  greatness  of  certain  delinquen- 
cies justified  by  the  event,  believe  at  last  that  there  are  two 
kinds  of  villany,  two  classes  of  morals,  and  that  necessity,  or 
reasons  of  state,  as  they  were  formerly  called,  exculpate  crim- 
inals of  high  lineage,  provided  they  have  so  managed  that 
their  excesses  shall  be  in  accord  with  the  passions  of  the  coun- 
try. 

Avowed,  open  tyranny  would  little  terrify  me  after  having 
seen  oppression  disguised  as  love  of  order.  The  strength  of  des- 
potism lies  in  the  mask  of  the  despot.  When  the  sovereign  can 
no  longer  lie,  the  people  are  free ;  thus  I  see  no  other  evil  in  this 
world  except  that  of  falsehood.  If  you  dread  only  violent  and 
avowed  arbitrary  power,  go  to  Russia ;  there  you  will  learn  to 
fear  above  all  things  the  tyranny  of  hypocrisy.  I  cannot  deny 
it ;  I  bring  back  with  me  from  my  journey  ideas  which  I  did 
not  own  when  I  undertook  it.  I  therefore  would  not  have  been 
spared,  for  any  thing  in  the  world,  the  trouble  which  it  has  cost 
me  :  if  I  print  the  relation  of  it,  I  do  so  precisely  because  it  has 
modified  my  opinions  upon  several  points.  Those  opinions  are 
known  to  all  who  have  read  me  ;  my  change  of  opinion  is  not : 
it  is  therefore  a  duty  to  publish  it. 


THE  TASK  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  477 

On  setting  out,  I  did  not  intend  writing  this  my  last  journey  : 
my  method  is  fatiguing,  because  it  consists  in  reviewing  for  my 
friends,  during  the  night,  the  recollections  of  the  day.  Whilst 
occupied  with  this  labour,  which  bears  the  character  of  confi- 
dential communications,  the  public  appeared  to  my  thoughts  in 
only  a  dim  and  vapoury  distance — so  vapoury  that  I  scarcely  yet 
realise  its  presence  ;  and  this  will  account  for  the  familiar  tone 
of  an  intimate  correspondence  being  preserved  in  my  printed  let- 
ters. 

I  pleased  myself  with  thinking  that  I  should  this  time  be 
able  to  travel  for  myself  alone,  which  would  have  been  a  means  of 
observing  with  tranquillity  ;  but  the  ideas  with  which  I  found  the 
Russians  prepossessed  with  regard  to  me,  from  the  greatest  per- 
sonages down  to  the  smallest  private  individuals,  gave  me  to  see 
the  measure  of  my  importance,  at  least  of  that  which  I  could  ac- 
quire in  Petersburg.  "  What  do  you  think,  or  rather,  what  shall 
you  say  of  us  ?  "  This  was  at  the  bottom  of  every  conversation 
held  with  me.  They  drew  me  from  my  inaction  :  1  was  playing 
a  modest  part  through  apathy,  or  perhaps  cowardice  ;  for  Paris 
renders  those  humble  whom  it  does  not  render  excessively  pre- 
sumptuous ;  but  the  restless  self-love  of  the  Russians  restored  to 
me  my  own. 

I  was  sustained  in  my  new  resolution  by  a  continual  and  visi- 
ble dispersion  of  illusion.  Assuredly,  the  cause  of  the  disap- 
pointment must  have  been  strong  and  active  to  have  allowed 
disgust  to  take  possession  of  me  in  the  midst  of  the  most  brilliant 
fetes  that  I  have  ever  seen  in  my  life,  and  in  spite  of  the  dazzling 
hospitality  of  the  Russians.  But  I  recognised  at  the  first  glance, 
that  in  the  demonstrations  of  interest  which  they  lavish  upon  us, 
there  is  more  of  the  desire  to  appear  engaging,  than  of  true  cor- 
diality. Cordiality  is  unknown  to  the  Russians  :  it  is  one  of 
those  things  which  they  have  not  borrowed  from  their  German 
neighbours.  They  occupy  your  every  moment ;  they  distract  your 
thoughts ;  they  engross  your  attention ;  they  tyrannise  over  you 
by  means  of  officious  politeness ;  they  inquire  how  you  pass  your 
days  ;  they  question  you  with  an  importunity  known  only  to 
themselves,  and  by  fete  after  fete  they  prevent  you  seeing  their 
country.  They  have  even  coined  a  French  word  \enguirlandcr 
les  etrangers]  by  which  to  express  these  falsely  polite  tactics. 
Unhappily,  they  have  chanced  to  fall  upon  a  man  whom  fetes 
have  always  more  fatigued  than  diverted.  But  when  they  per- 
ceive that  their  direct  attempts  upon  the  mind  of  a  stranger  fail, 
they  have  recourse  to  indirect  means  to  discredit  his  statements 


4*78  ARISTOCRACY    THE    BULWARK    OF    LIBERTY. 

among  enlightened  readers  :  they  can  lead  him  astray  with  mar- 
vellous dexterity.  Thus,  still  to  prevent  him  from  seeing  things 
under  their  true  colour,  they  will  falsely  depreciate  when  they 
can  no  longer  reckon  upon  his  benevolent  credulity  to  permit 
them  falsely  to  extol.  Often  have  I,  in  the  same  conversation, 
surprised  the  same  person  changing  his  tactics  two  or  three  times 
towards  me.  I  do  not  always  flatter  myself  with  having  dis- 
cerned the  truth,  but  I  have  discerned  that  it  was  concealed 
from  me,  and  it  is  always  something  to  know  that  we  are  de- 
ceived ;  if  not  enlightened,  we  are  then  at  least  armed. 

All  courts  are  deficient  in  life  and  gaiety ;  but  at  that  of 
Petersburg,  one  has  not  even  the  permission  to  be  weary.  The 
Emperor,  whose  eye  is  on  every  thing,  takes  the  affectation  of 
enjoyment  as  a  homage,  which  reminds  me  of  the  observation  of 
M.  de  Talleyrand  upon  Napoleon  .  "  L'Empereur  ne  plaisante 
pas  ;  il  vent  qu'ou  s'amuse." 

I  shall  wound  self-love :  my  incorruptible  honesty  will  draw 
upon  me  reproaches ;  but  is  it  my  fault  if,  in  applying  to  an  ab- 
solute government  for  new  arguments  against  the  despot  that 
reigns  at  home,  against  disorder  baptized  with  the  name  of 
liberty,  I  have  been  struck  only  with  the  abuses  of  autocracy  ;  in 
other  words,  of  tyranny  designated  good  order  ?  Russian  des- 
potism is  a  false  order,  as  our  republicanism  is  a  false  liberty.  I 
make  war  with  falsehood  wherever  I  discover  it ;  but  there  is 
more  than  one  kind  of  lie:  I  had  forgotten  those  of  absolute 
power ;  I  now  recount  them  in  detail,  because,  in  relating  my 
travels  I  describe  without  reserve  all  that  I  see. 

I  hate  pretexts :  I  have  seen  that  in  Russia  order  serves  as 
a  pretext  for  oppression,  as,  in  France,  liberty  does  for  envy.  In 
a  word,  1  love  real  liberty — all  liberty  that  is  possible  in  a  so- 
ciety from  whence  elegance  is  not  excluded  ;  I  am  therefore 
neither  demagogue  nor  despot ;  I  am  an  aristocrat  in  the  broad- 
est acceptation  of  the  word.  The  elegance  that  I  wish  to  pre- 
serve in  communities  is  not  frivolous,  nor  yet  unfeeling ;  it  is 
regulated  by  taste ;  taste  excludes  all  abuses ;  it  is  the  surest 
preservative  against  them,  for  it  dreads  every  kind  of  exaggera- 
tion. A  certain  elegance  is  essential  to  the  arts,  and  the  arts 
save  the  world  ;  for  it  is  through  their  agency  more  than  any 
other  that  people  attach  themselves  to  civilization,  of  which  they 
are  the  last  aud  the  most  precious  fruits.  By  a  privilege  which 
belongs  to  them  alone  among  the  various  objects  that  can  shed  a 
halo  upon  a  nation,  their  glory  pleases  and  profits  all  classes  of 
society  equally. 


THE  TASK  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  479 

Aristocracy,  as  I  understand  it,  far  from  allying  itself  with 
tyranny  in  favour  of  order,  as  the  demagogues  who  misunder- 
stand it  pretend,  cannot  exist  under  an  arbitrary  government. 
Its  mission  is  to  defend,  on  one  side,  the  people  against  the  des- 
pot, and,  on  the  other,  civilisation  against  that  most  terrible  of 
all  tyrants,  revolution.  Barbarism  takes  more  than  one  form: 
crush  it  in  despotism  and  it  springs  to  life  again  in  anarchy ;  but 
true  liberty,  guarded  by  a  true  aristocracy,  is  neither  violent  nor 
inordinate. 

Unfortunately,  the  partisans  of  a  moderating  aristocracy  in 
Europe  are  now  blinded,  and  lend  their  arms  to  their  adversa- 
ries :  in  their  false  prudence  they  seek  for  aid  among  the  ene- 
mies of  all  political  and  religious  liberty,  as  though  danger  could 
only  come  from  the  side  of  the  new  revolutionaries :  they  forget 
that  arbitrary  sovereigns  were  anciently  as  much  usurpers  as 
are  the  modern  jacobins. 

Feudal  aristocracy  has  come  to  an  end  in  all  except  the  indel- 
ible glory  which  will  for  ever  shine  around  great  historical  names ; 
but  in  communities  which  wish  to  endure,  the  noblesse  of  the 
middle  ages  will  be  replaced,  as  it  long  has  been  among  the 
English,  by  a  hereditary  magistracy ;  this  new  aristocracy,  heir 
of  the  old,  and  composed  of  many  different  elements,  for  office, 
birth,  and  riches  all  form  its  basis,  will  not  regain  its  credit  until 
it  supports  itself  upon  a  free  religion ;  and  I  again  repeat,  the 
only  free  religion,  the  only  one  that  does  not  depend  on  a  tempo- 
ral power,  is  that  taught  by  the  Catholic  church :  for  as  to  the 
temporal  power  of  the  pope  himself,  it  is  now  only  calculated  to 
defend  his  sacerdotal  independence.  Aristocracy  is  the  govern- 
ment of  independent  minds,  and  it  cannot  be  too  often  reiterated, 
Catholicism  is  the  faith  of  free  priests. 

Whenever  I  think  I  perceive  a  truth,  I  utter  it  without  refer- 
ence to  the  consequences,  for  I  am  persuaded  that  evil  is  not 
caused  by  published  truths,  but  by  truths  that  are  disguised. 
Under  this  persuasion,  I  have  always  regarded  as  pernicious  that 
proverb  of  our  fathers,  which  says  that  truth  must  not  be  always 
spoken. 

It  is  because  each  one  picks  and  chooses  in  truth  only  such 
parts  as  serve  his  passions,  his  fears,  or  his  interest,  that  it  can 
be  rendered  more  mischievous  than  error.  When  I  travel,  I  do 
not  make  selections  among  the  facts  which  I  gather,  I  do  not 
reject  those  which  oppose  my  favourite  opinions.  When  I  relate, 
I  have  no  other  religion  than  that  of  a  worship  of  truth  ;  I  do  not 
permit  myself  to  be  a  judge ;  I  am  not  even  a  painter,  for  painters 


480  LIBERTY. 

compose ;  I  endeavour  to  be  become  a  mirror ;  in  short,  I  wish  to 
be,  above  all  things,  impartial ;  and  for  this  object,  the  intention 
suffices,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  intelligent  readers,  and  I  cannot 
and  will  not  recollect  that  there  are  others :  such  discovery  would 
render  the  labours  of  the  author  too  fastidious. 

Every  time  that  I  have  had  occasion  to  communicate  with 
men,  the  first  thought  with  which  their  manner  has  inspired  me 
has  been  that  they  possess  more  ability  than  I,  that  they  know 
better  how  to  speak,  act,  and  defend  themselves.  Such  have 
been,  up  to  this  day,  the  results  of  my  experience  in  the  world ; 
I  do  not  therefore  despise  any  one,  and,  least  of  all,  my  readers. 
This  is  the  reason  that  I  never  flatter  them. 

If  there  are  men  towards  whom  I  find  it  difficult  to  be  equi- 
table, they  are  those  who  weary  me ;  but  I  scarcely  know  any 
such,  for  I  always  fly  from  the  indolent. 

I  have  said  that  there  is  only  one  town  in  Russia ;  there  is 
only  one  drawing-room  in  Petersburg  :  every  where  is  to  be  seen 
either  the  court  or  fractions  of  the  court.  You  may  change  the 
house,  but  you  cannot  change  the  circle ;  and  in  that  invariable 
circle  all  subject  of  interesting  conversation  is  interdicted :  but 
here  I  find  that  there  is  a  compensation,  thanks  to  the  sharpened 
wit  of  the  women,  who  understand  wonderfully  well  how  to 
inspire  thoughts  without  uttering  the  words  that  express  them. 

Women  are  in  every  land  the  least  servile  of  slaves,  because, 
using  so  skilfully  their  weakness  as  to  form  for  themselves  a 
power  out  of  it,  they  know  better  than  we  do  how  to  evade  bad 
laws  ;  it  is  they,  consequently,  who  are  destined  to  save  individual 
liberty  wherever  public  liberty  is  wanting. 

What  is  liberty  if  it  be  not  the  guarantee  of  the  rights  of  the 
weakest,  whom  woman  is  by  nature  charged  with  representing  in 
social  life  ?  In  France  they  now  pride  themselves  on  every  thing 
being  decided  by  the  majority  :  .  .  .  admirable  marvel !  When  I 
shall  see  that  some  regard  is  shown  to  the  claims  of  the  minority, 
I  too  shall  cry  Vive  la  liberty !  It  must  be  owned  that  the 
weakest  now,  were  the  strongest  formerly,  and  that  then  they 
only  too  often  set  the  example  of  the  abuse  of  superior  force  that 
I  complain  of.  But  one  error  does  not  excuse  another. 

Notwithstanding  the  secret  influence  of  the  women,  Russia 
still  remains  farther  from  liberty,  not  in  words,  bat  in  things, 
than  most  of  the  countries  upon  earth.  To-morrow,  in  an  insur- 
rection, in  the  midst  of  massacre,  by  the  light  of  a  conflagration, 
the  cry  of  freedom  may  spread  to  the  frontiers  of  Siberia ;  a 
blind  and  cruel  people  may  murder  their  masters,  may  revolt 
against  obscure  tyrants,  and  dye  the  waters  of  the  Volga  with 

* 


THE  TASK  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  481 

blood ;  but  they  will  not  be  any  the  more  free  :  barbarism  is  in 
itself  a  yoke. 

The  best  means  of  emancipating  men  is  not  pompously  to 
proclaim  their  enfranchisement,  but  to  render  servitude  impos- 
sible by  developing  the  sentiment  of  humanity  in  the  hearts  of 
nations :  that  sentiment  is  deficient  in  Russia.  To  talk  of 
liberalism  to  the  Russians,  of  whatever  class  they  may  be,  would 
now  be  a  crime :  to  preach  humanity  to  all  classes  without  ex- 
ception is  a  duty. 

The  Russian  nation  has  not  yet  imbibed  the  sentiment  of 
justice ;  thus,  one  day  it  was  mentioned  to  me  in  praise  of  the 
Emperor  Nicholas,  that  an  obscure  private  individual  had  gained 
a  cause  against  some  powerful  nobleman.  In  this  instance,  the 
encomium  on  the  sovereign  appeared  to  me  as  a  satire  upon  the 
community.  The  too-highly  boasted  fact  proved  to  me  positively 
that  equity  is  only  an  exception  in  Russia. 

Every  thing  duly  considered,  I  would  by  no  means  advise 
obscure  men  to  act  in  reliance  upon  the  success  of  the  person 
thus  instanced,  who  was  favoured  perhaps  to  assure  impunity  to 
the  usual  course  of  injustice,  and  to  furnish  a  specimen  of  equity 
which  the  dispensers  of  the  law  were  in  need  of,  to  serve  as  a 
reply  to  reproaches  of  servility  and  corruption. 

Another  fact,  which  suggests  an  inference  little  favourable  to 
the  Russian  judiciary,  is  that  there  should  be  so  little  litigation 
in  the  country.  The  reason  is  not  obscure ;  people  would  more 
often  have  recourse  to  justice  if  the  judges  were  more  equitable. 
A  similar  reason  accounts  for  there  being  no  fighting  or  quarrel- 
ling in  the  streets.  A  dread  of  chains  and  dungeons  is  the  con- 
sideration which  usually  restrains  the  parties. 

Notwithstanding  the  melancholy  pictures  that  I  draw,  two  in- 
animate objects,  and  one  living  person,  are  worth  the  trouble  of 
the  journey:  the  Neva  of  Petersburg  during  the  nightless  season, 
the  Kremlin  of  Moscow  by  moonlight,  and  the  Emperor  of  Rus- 
sia. These  include  picturesque,  historical,  and  political  Russia ; 
beyond  them  every  thing  is  fatiguing  and  wearisome  to  a  degree 
that  may  be  judged  of  by  the  preceding  chapters. 

Many  of  my  friends  have  written  to  advise  me  not  to  publish 
them. 

As  I  was  preparing  to  leave  Petersburg,  a  Russian  asked  me, 
as  all  the  Russians  do,  what  I  should  say  of  his  country.  "  I 
have  been  too  well  received  there  to  talk  about  it  *,"  was  my  reply. 

*  J'y  ai  6t6  trop  bien  re^u  pour  en  parler." 
21 


482  THE  TASK  OP  THE  AUTHOR. 

•This  avowal,  in  which  I  thought  I  had  scarcely  politely  con- 
cealed an  epigram,  is  brought  up  against  me.  "  Treated  as  you 
have  been,"  I  am  told,  "  you  cannot  possibly  tell  the  truth  ;  and 
as  you  cannot  write  except  to  do  so,  you  had  better  remain 
silent."  Such  is  the  opinion  of  a  party  among  those  to  whom  I 
am  accustomed  to  listen.  At  any  rate,  it  is  not  flattering  to  the 
Russians. 

My  opinion  is,  that  without  wounding  the  delicacy,  without 
failing  in  the  gratitude  due  to  individuals,  nor  yet  in  the  respect 
due  to  self,  there  is  always  a  proper  manner  of  speaking  with 
sincerity  of  public  men  and  things,  and  I  hope  to  have  discov- 
ered this  manner.  It  is  pretended  that  truth  only  shocks,  but  in 
France,  at  least,  no  one  has  the  right  or  the  power  to  close  the 
mouth  of  him  who  speaks  it.  My  exclamations  of  indignation 
cannot  be  taken  for  the  disguised  expression  of  wounded  vanity. 
If  I  had  listened  only  to  my  self-love,  it  would  have  told  me  to 
be  enchanted  with  every  thing :  my  heart  has  been  enchanted 
with  nothing. 

If  every  thing  related  of  the  Russians  and  their  country  turn 
into  personalities,  so  much  the  worse  for  them  :  this  is  an  inevit- 
able evil,  for  things  do  not  exist  in  Russia,  since  it  is  the  whim 
of  a  man  who  makes  and  unmakes  them ;  but  that  is  not  the 
fault  of  travellers. 

The  Emperor  appears  to  me  little  disposed  to  lay  down  a 
part  of  his  authority.  Let  him  suffer,  then,  the  responsibility 
of  omnipotence :  it  is  the  first  expiation  of  the  political  lie  by 
which  a  single  individual  declares  himself  absolute  master  of  a 
country  and  all-powerful  sovereign  of  the  thoughts  of  a  people. 

Forbearance  in  practice  does  not  excuse  the  impiety  of  such 
a  doctrine.  I  have  found  among  the  Russians  that  the  princi- 
ples of  absolute  monarchy,  applied  with  inflexible  consistency, 
lead  to  results  that  are  monstrous :  and,  this  time,  my  political 
quietism  cannot  withhold  me  from  perceiving  and  proclaiming 
that  there  are  governments  to  which  people  ought  never  to 
submit. 

The  Emperor  Alexander,  talking  confidentially  with  Madame 
de  Stael  about  the  ameliorations  which  he  projected,  said  to  her, 
"  You  praise  my  philanthropical  intentions — I  am  obliged  to 
you ;  nevertheless,  in  the  history  of  Russia,  I  am  only  a  lucky 
chance." 

That  prince  spoke  the  truth :  the  Russians  vainly  boast  of 
the  prudence  and  management  of  the  men  who  direct  their  af- 
fairs ;  arbitrary  power  is  not  the  less  the  fundamental  principle 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  EMPEROR.  483 

of  the  state ;  and  this  principle  so  works  that  the  Emperor 
makes,  or  suffers  to  be  made,  or  allows  to  exist,  laws  (excuse  the 
application  of  this  sacred  name  to  impious  decrees)  which,  for 
example,  permit  the  sovereign  to  declare  that  the  legitimate 
children  of  a  man  legally  married  have  no  father,  no  name  ;  in 
short,  that  they  are  ciphers  and  not  human  beings.*  And  am  I 
to  be  forbidden  to  accuse  at  the  bar  of  Europe  a  prince  who, 
distinguished  and  superior  as  he  is,  consents  to  reign  without 
abolishing  such  a  law  ? 

His  resentment  is  implacable :  with  hatred  so  strong,  he  may 
yet  be  a  great  sovereign,  but  he  cannot  be  a  great  man.  The 
great  man  is  merciful,  the  political  character  is  vindictive ;  ven- 
geance reigns,  pardon  converts. 

I  have  now  made  my  last  observations  upon  a  prince  that  one 
hesitates  to  judge,  after  knowing  the  country  where  he  is  con- 
demned to  reign ;  for  men  there  are  so  dependent  upon  things, 
that  it  is  difficult  to  know  how  high  or  how  low  to  look  in  fixing 
the  responsibility  of  actions.  And  the  nobles  of  such  a  country 
pretend  to  resemble  the  French  !  The  French  kings,  in  barba- 
rous times,  have  often  cut  off  the  heads  of  their  great  vassals ; 
but  those  princes,  when  they  destroyed  their  enemies  and  seized 
their  goods,  did  not  debase  by  an  insulting  decree  their  caste, 
their  family,  and  their  country  :  such  a  forgetfulness  of  all  dig- 
nity would  have  rendered  the  people  of  France  indignant,  even 
in  the  middle  ages.  But  the  people  of  Russia  suffer  even  worse 
things  than  these.  I  must  correct  myself — there  is  no  people 
of  Russia;  there  is  an  emperor,  who  has  serfs,  and  there  are 
courtiers  who  have  serfs  also;  but  this  does  not  constitute  a 
people. 

The  middle  class,  few  in  number  as  compared  with  others,  is 
at  present  almost  entirely  composed  of  strangers;  a  few  peasants, 
enfranchised  by  their  wealth,  together  with  the  smallest  employes, 
begin  to  swell  its  ranks.  The  future  fate  of  Russia  depends 
upon  this  new  citizen  class,  the  elements  of  which  are  so  diverse 
that  it  seems  scarcely  possible  they  can  combine  together. 

The  attempt  is  now  making  to  create  a  Russian  nation ;  but 
the  task  is  difficult  for  one  man.  Evil  is  quickly  committed,  but 
slowly  repaired :  the  mortifications  of  despotism  must  often,  I 
should  think,  enlighten  the  despot  on  the  abuses  of  absolute 
power.  But  the  embarrassments  of  the  oppressor  do  not  excuse 
oppression.  I  can  pity  them,  because  evil  is  always  to  be  pitied ; 

*  See  the  History  of  the  Princess  Troubetzkoi,  chap.  xxi. 


484  THE  TASK  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

but  they  inspire  me  with  much  less  compassion  than  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  oppressed.  In  Russia,  whatever  be  the  appearance 
of  things,  violence  and  arbitrary  rule  are  at  the  bottom  of  them 
all.  Tyranny  rendered  calm  by  the  influence  of  terror,  is  the 
only  kind  of  happiness  which  this  government  is  able  to  afford 
its  people. 

And  when  chance  has  made  me  a  witness  of  the  unspeakable 
evils  endured  under  a  constitution  founded  on  such  principles,  is 
the  fear  of  wounding  this  or  that  delicate  feeling  to  prevent  my 
describing  what  I  have  seen  ?  I  should  be  unworthy  of  having 
eyes  if  I  ceded  to  such  pusillanimous  partiality,  disguised  as  it 
has  this  time  been  under  the  name  of  respect  for  social  propriety; 
as  though  my  conscience  had  not  the  first  claim  to  nay  respect. 
What !  when  I  have  been  allowed  to  penetrate  into  a  prison, 
where  I  have  understood  the  silence  of  the  terrified  victims, 
must  I  not  dare  to  relate  their  martyrdom,  for  fear  of  being  ac- 
cused of  ingratitude,  because  of  the  complaisance  of  the  gaolers  ? 
Such  reserve  would  be  any  thing  but  a  virtue.  I  declare  then, 
that  after  having  observed  well  around  me,  after  endeavouring  to 
see  what  was  attempted  to  be  concealed,  to  understand  what  it 
was  not  wished  I  should  know,  to  distinguish  between  the  true 
and  the  false  in  all  that  was  said  to  me,  I  do  not  believe  I  am 
exaggerating  in  affirming,  that  the  empire  of  Russia  is  a  country 
whose  inhabitants  are  the  most  miserable  upon  earth,  because 
they  suffer  at  one  and  the  same  time  the  evils  of  barbarism  and 
of  civilization.  As  regards  myself,  I  should  feel  that  I  was  a 
traitor  and  a  coward  if,  after  having  already  boldly  sketched  the 
picture  of  a  great  part  of  Europe,  I  could  hesitate  to  complete  it, 
for  fear  either  of  modifying  opinions  of  my  own,  which  I  once 
maintained,  or  of  shocking  certain  parties  by  a  faithful  picture 
of  a  country  which  has  never  been  painted  as  it  really  is.  On 
what,  pray,  should  I  ground  a  respect  for  evil  things  ?  Am  I 
bound  by  any  other  chain  than  a  love  of  truth  ? 

In  general,  the  Russians  have  struck  me  as  being  endowed 
with  great  tact ;  extremely  quick,  but  possessing  very  little  sen- 
sibility ;  highly  susceptible,  but  very  unfeeling :  this  I  believe 
to  be  their  real  character.  As  I  have  already  said,  a  quick- 
sighted  vanity,  a  sarcastic  finesse  are  dominant  traits  in  their 
disposition ;  and  I  repeat,  that  it  would  be  pure  silliness  to  spare 
the  self-love  of  people  who  are  themselves  so  little  merciful :  sus- 
ceptibility is  not  delicacy.  It  is  time  that  these  men,  who 
discern  with  so  much  sagacity  the  vices  and  the  follies  of  our 
society,  should  accustom  themselves  to  bear  with  our  sincerity. 


THE  TASK  OF  THE  AUTHOR.  486 

The  official  silence  which  is  maintained  among  them  deceives 
them  :  it  enervates  their  intellect :  if  they  wish  to  be  recognised 
by  the  European  nations,  and  treated  as  equals,  they  must  begin 
by  submitting  to  hear  themselves  judged.  All  the  nations  have 
had  to  undergo  this  kind  of  process.  When  did  the  Germans 
refuse  to  receive  the  English,  except  on  condition  that  the  latter 
should  speak  well  of  Germany  ?  Nations  have  always  good 
reasons  for  being  what  they  are,  and  the  best  of  all  is,  that  they 
cannot  be  otherwise. 

This  excuse  could  not  indeed  be  pleaded  by  the  Russians,  at 
least  not  by  those  who  read.  As  they  ape  every  thing,  they  might 
be  otherwise  ;  and  it  is  just  the  consciousness  of  this  possibility 
which  renders  their  government  severe,  even  to  ferocity  !  That 
government  knows  too  well  that  it  can  be  sure  of  nothing  with 
characters  which  are  mere  reflections. 

A  more  powerful  motive  might  have  checked  my  candour — 
the  fear  of  being  accused  of  apostasy.  "  He  has  long  protested," 
it  will  be  said,  "  against  liberal  declamations  ;  here  behold  him 
ceding  to  the  torrent,  and  seeking  false  popularity  after  having 
disdained  it." 

Perhaps  I  deceive  myself;  but  the  more  I  reflect,  the  less  I 
believe  that  this  reproach  will  reach  me,  or  even  that  it  will  be 
addressed  to  me. 

It  is  not  only  in  the  present  day  that  a  fear  of  being  blamed 
by  foreigners  has  occupied  the  minds  of  the  Russians.  That 
strange  people  unite  an  extremely  boasting  spirit  with  an  exces- 
sive distrust  of  self;  self-sufficiency  without,  uncomfortable  hu- 
mility within,  are  traits  which  I  have  observed  in  the  greater 
number  of  Russians.  Their  vanity,  which  never  rests,  is,  like 
English  pride,  always  suffering.  They  also  lack  simplicity.  Nai- 
vete, that  French  word  of  which  no  other  language  can  render  the 
exact  sense,  because  the  thing  it  describes  is  peculiar  to  our- 
selves, naivete,  that  simplicity  which  can  become  pointedly  witty, 
that  gift  of  disposition  which  can  produce  laughter  without  ever 
wounding  the  heart,  that  forgetfulness  of  rhetorical  precautions 
which  goes  so  far  as  to  lend  arms  against  itself  to  those  with 
whom  the  individual  converses,  that  fairness  of  judgment,  that 
altogether  involuntary  truthfulness  of  expression,  iu  one  word, 
that  Gallic  simplicity,  is  unknown  to  the  Russians.  A  race  of 
imitators  will  never  be  naif;  calculation  will,  with  them,  always 
destroy  sincerity. 

I  have  found  in  the  will  of  Monomachus,  prudent  and  curious 
counsels  addressed  to  his  children  :  the  following  is  a  passage 


486  THE  TASK  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

which  has  particularly  struck  me,  and  I  have  therefore  taken  it 
s  a  motto  for  my  book,  for  it  contains  an  important  avowal : 
"  Above  all,  respect  foreigners,  of  whatever  quality,  of  whatever 
rank  they  may  be,  and  if  you  cannot  load  them  with  presents,  at 
least  lavish  upon  them  tokens  of  good  will,  for,  on  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  treated  in  a  country  depends  the  good  or  the  evil 
which  they  will  say  of  it  when  they  return  to  their  own"  (From 
the  advice  of  Vladimir  Monomachus  to  his  children,  in  1126.) 

Such  a  refinement  of  self-love,  it  must  be  owned,  takes  from 
hospitality  much  of  its  worth.  It  is  a  charity  founded  on  calcu- 
lation, of  which  I  have,  in  spite  of  myself,  been  more  than  once 
reminded  during  my  journey.  Men  ought  not  to  be  deprived  of 
the  recompense  of  their  good  actions,  but  it  is  immoral  to  make 
this  recompense  the  primum  mobile  of  virtue. 

Karamsin  himself,  from  whom  the  above  is  cited,  speaks  of 
the  unfortunate  results  of  the  Mongol  invasion,  in  its  effect  upon 
the  character  of  the  Russian  people  :  if  I  am  found  severe  in  my 
judgments,  it  may  be  seen  that  they  are  justified  by  a  grave  his- 
torian who  yet  was  disposed  to  be  indulgent. 

The  following  is  an  instance  : — 

"  National  pride  was  lost  among  the  Russians  :  they  had  re- 
course to  artifices  which  supply  the  want  of  strength  among  a 
people  condemned  to  servile  obedience  ;  skilful  in  deceiving  the 
Tartars,  they  became  also  proficient  in  the  art  of  mutually  de- 
ceiving each  other.  Buying  from  barbarians  their  personal  se- 
curity, they  became  more  greedy  of  money,  and  less  sensitive  to 
wrongs  and  to  shame,  while  exposed  unceasingly  to  the  insolence 
of  foreign  tyrants" 

Further  on  he  says — 

"  It  may  be  that  the  present  character  of  the  Russians  pre- 
serves some  of  the  stains  with  which  the  barbarity  of  the  Mon- 
gols soiled  it." 

In  giving  a  resume  of  the  glorious  reign  of  the  great  and  good 
prince,  Ivan  III.,  he  says,  "Having  at  last  penetrated  the  secret 
of  autocracy,  he  (Ivan)  became  a  terrestrial  god  in  the  eyes  of 
Russians,  who  thenceforward  began  to  astonish  all  other  people 
by  a  blind  submission  to  the  will  of  their  sovereign." 

These  admissions  appear  to  me  as  doubly  significant,  coming 
from  the  mouth  of  an  historian  as  courtier-like  and  as  timid  as 
Karamsin.  I  might  have  multiplied  the  citatations,  but  I  believe 
the  above  are  sufficient  to  show  my  right  openly  to  express  my 
views,  thus  justified  by  the  opinions  of  an  author  accused  of 
partiality. 


GENERAL   CHARACTER    OF    THE   RUSSIANS.  487 

In  a  country  where  minds  are,  from  the  cradle,  fashioned  in 
the  dissimulation  and  finesse  of  Oriental  policy,  natural  senti- 
ment must  be  more  rare  than  elsewhere ;  and,  consequently,  when 
it  is  discovered  it  has  a  peculiar  charm.  I  have  met  in  Russia 
some  men,  who  blush  to  feel  themselves  oppressed  by  the  stern 
system  under  which  they  are  obliged  to  live  without  daring  to 
complain  :  they  are  only  free  when  in  the  face  of  the  enemy ;  they 
therefore  go  to  make  war  upon  the  Caucasus,  that  they  may  get 
rid  of  the  yoke  imposed  upon  them  at  home.  The  sorrows  of 
such  a  life  imprint  prematurely  on  their  faces  a  seal  of  melancho- 
ly, which  strikingly  contrasts  with  their  military  habits  and  the 
heedlessness  of  their  age  :  the  wrinkles  of  youth  reveal  profound 
griefs,  and  inspire  deep  pity.  These  young  men  have  borrowed 
from  the  East  their  gravity,  and  from  the  North  their  vague, 
imaginative  reverie :  they  are  very  unhappy  and  very  amiable : 
no  inhabitants  of  any  other  land  resemble  them. 

Since  the  Russians  possess  grace,  they  must  necessarily  have 
some  kind  of  natural  sentiment  in  their  character,  though  I  have 
not  been  able  to  discern  it.  It  is,  perhaps,  impossible  for  a  stran- 
ger travelling  through  Russia  as  rapidly  as  I  have  done,  to 
grasp  it.  No  character  is  so  difficult  to  define  as  that  of  this 
people. 

Without  a  middle  age — without  ancient  associations— with- 
out Catholicism — without  chivalry  to  look  back  upon — without 
respect  for  their  word  *— always  Greeks  of  the  Lower  Empire- 
polished  like  the  Chinese,  by  set  forms— coarse,  or  at  least  in- 
delicate, like  the  Calmucs— dirty  like  the  Laplanders— beautiful 
as  the  angels — ignorant  as  savages  (I  except  the  women  and  a 
few  diplomatists)— cunning  as  the  Jews— intriguing  as  freedmen 

gentle  and  grave  in  their  manners  as  the   Orientals — cruel  in 

their  sentiments  as  barbarians — mockers  both  by  nature  and  by 
the  feeling  of  their  inferiority— The  Russians,  light-minded  in 
appearance  only,  are  still  essentially  fit  for  serious  affairs.  All 
have  the  requisite  disposition  for  acquiring  an  extraordinary  acute 
tact,  but  none  are  magnanimous  enough  to  rise  above  it ;  and  they 
have  therefore  disgusted  me  with  that  faculty,  so  indispensable  to 
those  who  would  live  among  them.  With  their  continual  surveil- 
lance of  self,  they  seem  to  me  the  men  the  most  to  be  pitied  on 
earth.  This  police  of  the  imagination  is  incessantly  leading  them 

*  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  already  said,  it  may  be  proper 
here  to  repeat,  that  this  applies  only  to  the  mass,  who,  in  Russia,  are 
led  solely  oy  fear  and  force. 


488  THE    SECRET    OF 

to  sacrifice  their  sentiments  to  those  of  others  :  it  is  a  negative 
quality  which  excludes  positive  ones  of  a  far  superior  character ; 
it  is  the  livelihood  of  ambitious  courtiers,  whose  business  is  to 
obey  the  will  and  to  guess  the  impulses  of  another,  but  who  would 
be  scouted  should  they  ever  pretend  to  have  an  impulse  of  their 
own.  To  give  an  impulse  requires  genius  ;  genius  is  the  tact 
of  energy  ;  tact  is  only  the  genius  of  weakness.  The  Russians 
are  all  tact.  Genius  acts,  tact  .observes ;  and  the  abuse  of  obser- 
vation leads  to  mistrust,  that  is,  to  inaction;  genius  may  allay 
itself  with  a  great  deal  of  art,  but  never  with  a  very  refined  tact, 
because  tact — that  supreme  virtue  of  subalterns  who  respect  the 
enemy,  that  is,  the  master,  so  long  as  they  dare  not  strike — is 
always  united  with  a  degree  of  artifice.  Under  the  influence  of 
this  talent  of  the  seraglio,  the  Russians  are  impenetrable ;  it  is 
true  that  we  always  see  they  are  concealing  something,  but  we 
cannot  tell  what  they  conceal,  and  this  is  sufficient  for  them. 
They  will  be  truly  formidable  and  deeply  skilful  men  when  they 
succeed  in  masking  even  their  finesse. 

Some  of  them  have  already  attained  to  that  profiency :  they 
are  the  first  men  of  their  country,  both  by  the  posts  they  occupy, 
and  the  superiority  of  their  abilities.  But,  good  heavens  !  what 
is  the  object  of  all  this  management  ?  What  sufficient  motive 
shall  we  assign  for  so  much  stratagem  ?  What  duty,  what  recom- 
pense, can  so  long  reconcile  the  faces  of  men  who  bear  the  fatigue 
of  the  mask  ? 

Can  the  play  of  so  many  batteries  be  destined  to  defend  only 
a  real  and  legitimate  power  ?  Such  a  power  would  not  need  it ; 
truth  can  defend  herself.  Is  it  to  protect  the  miserable  interests 
of  vanity  ?  Perhaps  it  is  ;  yet  to  take  so  much  pains  to  attain 
so  contemptible  a  result  would  be  unworthy  of  the  grave  men  to 
whom  I  allude  :  I  attribute  to  them  profounder  views  :  I  think 
I  perceive  a  greater  object,  and  one  which  better  explains  their 
prodigies  of  dissimulation  and  longanimity. 

An  ambition  inordinate  and  immense,  one  of  those  ambitions 
which  could  only  possibly  spring  in  the  bosoms  of  the  oppressed, 
and  could  only  find  nourishment  in  the  miseries  of  a  whole  nation, 
ferments  in  the  heart  of  the  Russian  people.  That  nation,  essen- 
tially aggressive,  greedy  under  the  influence  of  privation,  expiates 
beforehand,  by  a  debasing  submission,  the  design  of  exercising  a 
tyranny  over  other  nations :  the  glory,  the  riches,  which  it  hopes 
for,  console  it  for  the  disgrace  to  which  it  submits.  To  purify 
himself  from  the  foul  and  impious  sacrifice  of  all  public  and  per- 
sonal liberty,  the  slave,  upon  his  knees,  dreams  of  the  conquest  of 
the  world. 


THEIR   POLICY.  489 

It  is  not  the  man  who  is  adored  in  the  Emperor  Nicholas — it  is 
the  ambitious  master  of  a  nation  more  ambitious  than  himself. 
The  passions  of  the  Russians  are  shaped  in  the  same  mould  as 
those  of  the  people  of  antiquity :  among  them  every  thing  reminds 
us  of  the  Old  Testament ;  their  hopes,  their  tortures,  are  great, 
like  their  empire. 

There,  nothing  has  any  limits, — neither  griefs,  nor  rewards, 
nor  sacrifices,  nor  hopes :  the  power  of  such  a  people  may  become 
enormous  ;  but  they  will  purchase  it  at  the  price  which  the  nations 
of  Asia  pay  for  the  stability  of  their  governments — the  price  of 
happiness. 

Russia  sees  in  Europe  a  prey  which  our  dissensions  will  sooner 
or  later  yield  to  her ;  she  foments  anarchy  among  us  in  the  hope 
of  profiting  by  a  corruption  which  she  favours  because  it  appears 
favourable  to  her  views :  it  is  the  history  of  Poland  recommencing 
on  a  larger  scale.  For  many  years  past,  Paris  has  read  revolution- 
ary journals  paid  by  Russia.  "  Europe,"  they  say  at  Petersburg, 
"  is  following  the  road  that  Poland  took ;  she  is  enervating  her- 
self with  a  vain  liberalism,  whilst  we  continue  powerful  precisely 
because  we  are  not  free  :  let  us  be  patient  under  the  yoke  ;  others 
shall  some  day  pay  for  our  shame." 

The  views  that  I  reveal  here  may  appear  chimerical  to  minds 
engrossed  with  other  matters  ;  their  truth  will  be  recognised  by 
every  man  initiated  in  the  march  of  European  affairs,  and  in  the 
secrets  of  cabinets,  during  the  last  twenty  years.  They  furnish  a 
key  to  many  a  mystery;  they  explain  also  the  extreme  importance 
which  thoughtful  men,  grave  both  by  character  and  position,  attach 
to  the  being  viewed  by  strangers  only  on  the  favourable  side.  If 
the  Russians  were,  as  they  pretend,  the  supporters  of  order  and 
legitimacy,  would  they  make  use  of  men,  and,  what  is  worse,  of 
means  which  are  revolutionary  ? 

The  monstrous  credit  of  Russia  at  Rome  is  one  of  the  effects 
of  the  influence  against  which  I  would  have  us  prepared.*  Rome 
and  Catholicism  have  no  greater,  no  more  dangerous  enemy  than 
the  Emperor  of  Russia.  Sooner  or  later,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Greek  autocracy,  schism  will  reign  alone  at  Constantinople ; 
and  then  the  Christian  world,  divided  into  camps,  will  recognise 
the  wrong  done  to  the  Roman  church  by  the  political  blindness  of 
its  head. 

That  prince,  alarmed  by  the  disorder  into  which  the  nations 
were  falling  on  his  elevation  to  the  pontifical  throne,  terrified  by 

*  Written  in  1839 
21* 


490  THE    FALLIBILITY    OF    THE    POPE. 

the  moral  evils  inflicted  upon  Europe  by  our  revolutions,  without 
support,  alone  in  the  midst  of  an  indifferent  or  scoffing  world, 
feared  nothing  so  much  as  the  popular  commotions  from  which  he 
had  suffered,  and  seen  his  contemporaries  suffer:  yielding,  there- 
fore, to  the  fatal  influence  of  certain  narrow  minds,  he  took  human 
prudence  for  his  guide;  he  became  wise  according  to  the  fashion 
of  the  world,  skilful  after  the  manner  of  men  ;  that  is  to  say,  blind 
and  weak  in  the  sight  of  God  :  and  thus  was  the  cause  of  Catholi- 
cism in  Poland  deserted  by  its  natural  advocate,  the  visible  head 
of  the  orthodox  church.  Are  there  now  many  nations  who  would 
sacrifice  their  soldiers  for  Rome  ?  And  yet,  when,  in  his  naked- 
ness and  poverty,  the  Pope  still  found  a  people  ready  to  die  for 
him — he  excommunicated  them  ! — he,  the  only  prince  on  earth 
who  was  bound  to  assist  them  at  the  risk  of  his  own  life,  excom- 
municated them  to  please  the  sovereign  of  a  schismatic  nation  ! 
The  faithful  asked  each  other,  in  dismay,  what  had  become  of  the 
indefatigable  foresight  of  the  Holy  See  :  the  martyrs,  smitten  with 
interdiction,  saw  the  Catholic  faith  sacrificed  by  Rome  to  the 
Greek  policy ;  and  Poland,  discouraged  in  her  godlike  resistance, 
submitted  to  her  fate  without  understanding  it.* 

How  is  it  that  the  representative  of  God  upon  earth  has  not 
discovered  that,  since  the  treaty  of  Westphalia,  all  the  wars  of 
Europe  are  religious  wars  ?  What  carnal  prudence  is  it  that  can 
have  so  disturbed  his  vision  as  to  have  led  him  to  apply  to  the 
direction  of  heavenly  things,  means  proper  enough  for  earthly 
monarchs,  but  unworthy  of  the  King  of  kings  ?  Their  throne  has 
only  a  transient  duration;  his  shall  endure  for  ever — yes,  for 
ever :  for  the  priest  who  is  seated  upon  that  throne  would  be  more 
great,  more  clear-sighted  in  the  catacombs  than  he  is  in  the  Vat- 
ican. Cheated  by  the  subtlety  of  the  sons  of  the  age,  he  has  not 
penetrated  below  the  surface  of  things ;  and,  in  the  aberrations 
into  which  his  fear-policy  has  led  him,  he  has  forgotten  to  draw 
his  strength  from  its  only  real  source — the  politics  of  faith,  f 

*  These  remonstrances,  which,  it  is  believed,  do  not  overstep  the  bounds 
of  respect,  have  been  justified  by  the  later  edicts  of  the  court  of  Rome. 

f  Ignorance  on  religious  points  is  so  great  in  the  present  day,  that  a 
Catholic,  a  man  of  talent,  to  whom  I  read  this  passage,  interrupted  me,  say- 
ing, "  You  are  no  longer  a  Catholic,  you  blame  the  pope  !  "  As  if  the  pope 
was  impeccable,  as  well  as  infallible,  in  matters  of  faith.  Even  this  infalli- 
bility itself  is  submitted  to  certain  restrictions  by  the  Gallicans,  who  yet 
consider  themselves  Catholic.  Has  Dante  ever  been  accused  of  heresy  ? 
Yet  what  is  the  language  that  he  addresses  to  such  of  the  popes  as  he  places 
in  hia  hell  ?  The  ablest  minds  of  our  times  fall  into  a  confusion  of  ideas  that 
would  have  excited  the  laughter  of  the  school-boys  of  past  ages.  I  answer- 


APPEARANCE    EVERYTHING    IN    RUSSIA.  491 

But  patience !  the  times  are  ripening ;  soon,  every  question 
will  be  clearly  denned,  and  truth,  defended  by  its  legitimate 
champions,  will  regain  its  empire  over  the  minds  of  nations. 
Perhaps  the  struggle  which  is  preparing  will  serve  to  convince 
Protestants  of  an  essential  truth,  which  I  have  already  more  than 
once  dwelt  upon,  but  on  which  I  insist,  because  it  appears  to  me 
the  only  truth  necessary  to  expedite  the  reunion  of  all  Christian 
communities  :  it  is  that  the  only  really  free  priest  that  exists  is 
the  Catholic  priest.  Every  where,  except  in  the  Catholic  church, 
the  priest  is  subjected  to  other  laws  and  other  lights  than  those 
of  his  conscience  and  his  doctrine.  One  trembles  at  seeing  the 
inconsistencies  of  the  church  of  England,  as  well  as  the  abject- 
ness  of  the  Greek  church  at  Petersburg :  when  hypocrisy  ceases 
to  triumph  in  England,  the  greater  part  of  the  kingdom  will  again 
become  Catholic.  The  church  of  Rome  has  alone  saved  the 
purity  of  faith  by  defending  throughout  the  earth,  with  sublime 
generosity,  with  heroic  patience,  with  inflexible  conviction,  the 
independence  of  sacerdotal  power  against  the  usurpations  of  tem- 
poral sovereignties.  Where  is  the  church  which  has  not  allowed 
itself  to  be  lowered  by  the  different  governments  of  the  earth  to 
the  rank  of  a  pious  police  ?  There  is  but  one,  one  only — the 
Catholic  church ;  and  that  liberty  which  she  has  preserved  at  the 
cost  of  the  blood  of  her  martyrs,  is  an  eternal  principle  of  life  and 
power.  The  future  is  her  own,  because  she  has  kept  herself  pure 
from  alloy.  Let  Protestantism  agitate  and  divide, — to  do  so  is 
the  very  principle  of  its  nature ;  let  sects  quarrel  and  dispute, — 
this  is  their  vocation :  the  Catholic  church  waits  !  .  .  .  . 

The  Greco-Russian  clergy  have  never  been,  and  never  will  be 
any  thing  more  than  a  militia  dressed  in  a  uniform  rather  differ- 
ent from  that  of  the  secular  troops  of  the  empire. 

The  distance  which  separates  Russia  from  the  West  has  won- 
derfully aided  hitherto  in  veiling  all  these  things  from  us.  If 
the  astute  Greek  policy  so  much  fears  the  truth,  it  is  because  it 
so  well  knows  how  to  profit  by  falsehood  ;  but  what  surprises  me 
is,  that  it  should  succeed  in  perpetuating  the  reign  of  that  in- 
fluence. 

Can  the  reader  now  understand  the  importance  of  an  opinion, 
of  a  sarcastic  word,  a  letter,  a  jest,  a  smile,  or,  with  still  greater 
reason,  of  a  book,  in  the  eyes  of  a  government  thus  favoured  by 

ed  my  critic  by  referring  him  to  Bossuet  His  exposition  of  Catholic  doc- 
trins,  confirmed,  approved,  always  praised,  and  adopted  by  the  court  of 
Rome,  sufficiently  justifies  my  principles. 


492  RUSSIAN    ASPIRATIONS    OF    CONQUEST. 

the  credulity  of  its  people,  and  by  the  complaisance  of  all  for- 
eigners ?  A  word  of  truth  dropped  in  Russia,  is  a  spark  that 
may  fall  on  a  barrel  of  gunpowder. 

What  do  the  men  who  govern  the  empire  care  for  the  want, 
and  the  pallid  visages  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Emperor  ?  Those 
living  spectres  have  the  most  beautiful  uniforms  in  Europe ;  what 
signify,  then,  the  filthy  smocks  in  which  the  gilded  phantoms  are 
concealed  in  the  interior  of  their  barracks  ?  Provided  they  are 
only  shabby  and  dirty  in  secret,  and  that  they  shine  when  they 
show  themselves,  nothing  is  asked  from  them,  nothing  is  given 
them.  With  the  Russians  appearance  is  every  thing,  and  among 
them,  appearance  deceives  more  than  it  does  among  others.  It 
follows,  that  whoever  lifts  a  corner  of  the  curtain  loses  his  repu- 
tation in  Petersburg  beyond  the  chance  of  retrieving  it. 

Social  life  in  that  city  is  a  permanent  conspiracy  against  the 
truth. 

There,  whoever  is  not  a  dupe,  is  viewed  as  a  traitor, — there, 
to  laugh  at  a  gasconade,  to  refute  a  falsehood,  to  contradict  a 
political  boast,  to  find  a  reason  for  obedience,  is  to  be  guilty  of 
an  attempt  against  the  safety  of  the  state  and  the  prince ;  it  is 
to  incur  the  fate  of  a  revolutionist,  a  conspirator,  an  enemy  of 
order,  a  POLE  ;  and  we  all  know  whether  this  fate  is  a  merciful 
one.  It  must  be  owned,  the  susceptibility  which  thus  manifests 
itself  is  more  formidable  than  laughable  ;  the  minute  surveillance 
of  such  a  government,  in  accord  with  the  enlightened  vanity  of 
such  a  people,  becomes  fearful ;  it  is  no  longer  ludicrous. 

People  must  and  ought  to  employ  all  manner  of  precautions 
under  a  master  who  shows  mercy  to  no  enemy,  who  despises  no 
resistance,  and  who  considers  vengeance  as  a  duty.  This  man, 
or  rather  this  government  personified,  would  view  pardon  as 
apostasy,  clemency  as  self-forgetfulness,  humanity  as  a  want  of 
respect  towards  its  own  majesty,  or,  I  should  rather  say,  its 
divinity ! 

Russian  civilisation  is  still  so  near  its  source  that  it  resembles 
barbarism.  The  Russians  are  nothing  more  than  a  conquering 
community;  their  strength  does  not  lie  in  mind  but  in  war,  that 
is,  in  stratagem  and  brute  force. 

Poland,  by  its  last  insurrection,  has  retarded  the  explosion  of 
the  mine ;  it  has  forced  the  batteries  to  remain  masked  :  Poland 
will  never  be  pardoned  for  the  dissimulation  that  she  has  rendered 
necessary,  not  towards  herself,  for  she  is  immolated  with  impunity, 
but  towards  friends  whom  it  is  needful  to  continue  making  dupes, 
while  humouring  their  stormy  philanthrophy.  The  advance-guard 


THE    PROSPECTS    OF    RUSSIA    CONTINGENT.  493 

of  the  new  Roman  Empire,  which  will  be  called  the  Greek  Em- 
pire, and  the  most  circumspect  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  the 
most  blind  of  the  kings  of  Europe,*  to  please  his  neighbour,  who 
is  also  his  master,  is  commencing  a  religious  war.  If  he  can  be 
thus  led  astray,  it  will  be  easy  to  seduce  others. 

If  ever  the  Russians  succeed  in  conquering  the  West,  they  will 
not  govern  it  from  their  own  country,  after  the  manner  of  the  old 
Mongols;  on  the  contrary,  there  will  be  nothing  in  which  they 
will  show  such  eager  haste  as  to  issue  from  their  icy  plains  ;  un- 
like their  ancient  masters,  the  Tartars,  who  tyrannised  over  the 
Sclavonians  fromadistanc^ — for  the  climate  of  Muscovy  frightened 
even  the  Mongols — the  Muscovites  will  leave  their  country  the 
moment  the  roads  of  other  countries  are  open  to  them. 

At  this  moment  they  talk  moderation  ;  they  protest  against  the 
conquest  of  Constantinople ;  they  say  that  they  fear  every  thing 
that  would  increase  an  empire  where  the  distances  are  already  a 
calamity  ;  they  dread — yes  !  even  thus  far  extends  their  prudence  ! 
— they  dread  hot  climates  !  .  .  .  Let  us  wait  a  little,  and  we  shall 
see  what  will  become  of  all  these  fears. 

And  am  I  not  to  speak  of  so  much  falsehood,  so  many  perils, 
so  great  an  evil  ?  .  .  .  No,  no ;  I  would  rather  have  been  de- 
ceived and  speak,  than  have  rightly  discerned  and  remained 
silent.  If  there  is  temerity  in  recounting  my  observations,  there 
would  be  criminality  in  concealing  them. 

The  Russians  will  not  answer  me  ;  they  will  say,  "  A  journey 
of  four  months  ! — he  cannot  have  fully  seen  things." 

It  is  true  I  have  not  fully  seen,  but  I  have  well  defined. 

Or,  if  they  do  me  the  honour  of  refuting  me,  they  will  deny 
facts, — facts  which  they  are  accustomed  to  reckon  as  nothing  in 
Petersburg,  where  the  past,  like  the  present  and  the  future,  is  at 
the  mercy  of  the  monarch :  for,  once  again,  the  Russians  have 
nothing  of  their  own  but  obedience  and  imitation ;  the  direction 
of  their  mind,  their  judgment  and  their  free-will  belongs  to  their 
master.  In  Russia,  history  forms  a  part  of  the  crown  domain  ;  it 
is  the  moral  estate  of  the  prince,  as  men  and  lands  are  the  mate- 
rial ;  it  is  placed  in  cabinets  with  the  other  imperial  treasures, 
and  only  such  of  it  is  shown  as  it  is  wished  should  be  seen.  The 
Emperor  modifies  at  his  pleasure  the  annals  of  the  country,  and 
daily  dispenses  to  his  people  the  historic  truths  that  accord  with 
the  fiction  of  the  moment.  Thus  it  was  that  Minine  and  Pojarski 
— heroes  forgotten  for  two  centuries — were  suddenly  exhumed, 

*  Written  of  the  late  King  of  Prussia,  in  1839. 


494  ALLIANCE    OF    FRANCE    AND    GERMANY. 

and  became  the  fashion,  during  the  invasion  of  Napoleon.  At 
that  moment,  the  government  permitted  patriotic  enthusiasm. 

Nevertheless,  this  exorbitant  power  injures  itself;  Russia  will 
not  submit  to  it  eternally.  A  spirit  of  revolt  broods  in  the  army. 
I  say,  with  the  Emperor,  the  Russians  have  travelled  too  much; 
the  nation  has  become  greedy  of  information :  the  custom-house 
cannot  confiscate  ideas,  armies  cannot  exterminate  them,  ramparts 
cannot  arrest  their  progress ;  ideas  are  in  the  air,  they  pervade 
every  region,  and  they  are  changing  the  world.* 

From  all  that  has  gone  before,  it  follows  that  the  future — that 
brilliant  future  dreamt  of  by  the  Russians — does  not  depend 
upon  them  ;  they  have  no  ideas  of  their  own  ;  and  the  fate  of  this 
nation  of  imitators  will  be  decided  by  people  whose  ideas  are 
their  own.  If  passions  calm  in  theWest,  if  union  be  established 
between  the  governments  and  their  subjects,  the  greedy  hope  of 
the  conquering  Sclavonians  will  become  a  chimera. 

It  is  proper  to  repeat  that  I  write  without  animosity,  that  I 
have  described  things  without  traducing  persons,  and  that  in 
expatiating  upon  certain  facts  which  have  shocked  me,  I  have 
generally  accused  less  than  I  have  recounted. 

I  left  Paris  with  the  opinion,  that  the  intimate  alliance  of 
France  and  Russia  could  alone  set  to  right  the  affairs  of  Europe  : 
but  since  I  have  seen  the  Russian  nation,  and  have  recognised  the 
true  spirit  of  its  government,  I  have  felt  that  it  is  isolated  from 
the  rest  of  the  civilised  world  by  a  powerful  political  interest, 
supported  by  religious  fanaticism ;  and  I  am  of  opinion  that 
France  should  seek  for  allies  amoog  nations  whose  interests  accord 
with  her  own.  Alliances  are  not  to  be  formed  on  opinions  in 
opposition  to  wants.  Where,  in  Europe,  are  wants  which  accord  ? 
I  answer  among  the  French  and  the  Germans,  and  the  people 
naturally  destined  to  serve  as  satellites  to  those  two  great 
nations.  The  destinies  of  a  progressive  civilisation,  a  civilisa- 
tion sincere  and  rational,  will  be  decided  in  the  heart  of  Europe : 
every  thing  which  tends  to  hasten  the  perfect  agreement  of 
French  and  German  policy  is  beneficent;  every  thing  which 
retards  that  union,  however  specious  be  the  motive  for  delay,  is 
pernicious. 

War  is  going  to  break  out  between  philosophy  and  faith,  be- 

*  Since  this  has  been  written,  the  Emperor  has  permitted  a  crowd  of 
Russians  to  make  a  stay  in  Paris.  He,  perhaps,  thinks  he  may  cure  the 
innovators  of  their  dreams,  by  showing  them  France,  which  is  represented 
to  him  as  a  volcano  of  revolutions,  as  a  country,  the  residence  in  which 
must  for  ever  disgust  them  with  political  reforms :  he  deceives  himself. 


THE    GREEK    RELIGION    IN    RUSSIA.  495 

tween  politics  and  religion,  between  Protestantism  and  Catholi- 
cism ;  and  the  banner  raised  by  France  in  this  gigantic  struggle 
will  decide  the  fate  of  the  world,  of  the  Church,  and,  above  all,  of 
France  herself. 

The  proof  that  the  kind  of  alliance  to  which  I  aspire  is  good, 
will  be  that  a  time  shall  come  when  we  shall  not  have  it  in  our 
power  to  choose  any  other. 

As  a  foreigner,  especially  as  a  foreigner  who  writes,  I  was 
overwhelmed  with  protestations  of  politeness  by  the  Russians : 
but  their  obliging  civilities  were  limited  to  promises  ;  no  one  gave 
me  facilities  for  seeing  into  the  depths  of  things.  A  crowd  of 
mysteries  have  remained  impenetrable  to  my  intellect.  A  year 
spent  in  the  journey  would  have  but  little  aided  me;  the  incon- 
veniences of  winter  seemed  to  me  the  more  formidable,  because 
the  inhabitants  assured  me  that  they  were  of  little  consequence. 
They  think  nothing  of  paralysed  limbs  and  frozen  faces;  though  I 
could  cite  more  than  one  instance  of  accidents  of  this  kind  hap- 
pening even  to  ladies  in  the  highest  circles  of  society  ;  and  once 
attacked,  the  individual  feels  the  effect  all  his  life.  I  had  no 
wish  uselessly  to  brave  these  evils,  together  with  the  tedious  pre- 
cautions that  would  be  necessary  to  avoid  them.  Besides,  in  this 
empire  of  profound  silence,  of  vast,  empty  space,  of  naked  coun- 
try, of  solitary  towns,  of  prudent  physiognomies,  whose  expression, 
by  no  means  srncere,  made  society  itself  appear  empty,  melan- 
choly was  gaining  hold  upon  me  ;  I  fled  before  the  spleen  as  much 
as  the  cold.  Whoever  would  pass  a  winter  at  Petersburg  must 
resign  himself  for  six  months  to  forget  nature,  in  order  to  live 
imprisoned  among  men  who  have  nothing  in  their  characters  that 
is  natural.*  I  admit,  ingenuously,  I  have  passed  a  wretched  sum- 
mer in  Russia,  because  I  have  not  been  able  well  to  understand 
more  than  a  small  portion  of  what  I  have  seen.  I  hoped  to  arrive 
at  solutions  :  I  bring  back  only  problems. 

There  is  one  mystery  which  I  more  especially  regret  my  ina- 
bility to  penetrate  :  I  allude  to  the  little  influence  of  religion. 
Notwithstanding  the  political  servitude  of  the  Greek  church, 
might  it  not  at  least  preserve  some  moral  authority  over  the 
people  ?  It  does  not  possess  any.  What  is  the  cause  of  the  no- 
thingness of  a  church  whose  labours  every  thing  seems  to  favour  ? 

*  I  have  found  in  the  newly-published  Letters  of  Lady  Montague,  a  maxim 
of  the  Turkish  courtiers,  applicable  to  all  courtiers,  but  more  especially 
to  the  Russian;  it  will  serve  to  mark  the  relations,  of  which  more  than 
one  sort  exist,  between  Turkey  and  Muscovy: — l<  Caress  the  favoured, 
shun  the  unfortunate,  and  trust  nobody." 


496  INTOLERANCE    OF    THE    GREEK    RELIGION. 

This  is  the  problem.  Is  it  the  property  of  the  Greek  religion  to 
remain  thus  stationary,  contenting  itself  with  external  tributes  of 
respect  ?  Is  such  a  result  inevitable  whenever  the  spiritual  power 
falls  into  absolute  dependence  upon  the  temporal  ?  I  believe  so  : 
but  this  is  what  I  could  have  wished  to  be  able  to  prove  by  means 
of  facts  and  documents.  However,  I  will,  in  a  few  words,  give 
the  result  of  my  observations  on  the  relations  between  the  Rus- 
sian clergy  and  people. 

I  have  seen  in  Russia  a  Christian  church,  which  no  one  attacks, 
which  every  one,  in  appearance  at  least,  respects — a  church  which 
every  thing  favours  in  the  exercise  of  its  moral  authority :  and 
yet  this  church  has  no  influence  over  the  heart ;  it  makes  no 
other  than  hypocritical  or  superstitious  votaries. 

In  a  land  where  religion  is  not  respected,  it  is  not  responsi- 
ble :  but  here,  where  all  the  influence  of  absolute  power  aids  the 
priest  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  work,  where  doctrine  is  not 
attacked  either  in  print  or  in  discourse,  where  religious  practices 
have,  so  to  speak,  become  a  law  of  the  state,  where  the  customs 
of  the  people,  which  among  us  oppose  faith,  serve  its  cause,  the 
church  may  be  reasonably  reproached  for  its  sterility.  That 
church  is  lifeless  ;  and  yet,  to  judge  by  what  passes  in  Poland, 
it  can  persecute,  though  it  has  not  the  high  virtues  and  talents 
that  might  enable  it  to  proselyte  :  in  short,  the  Russian  church, 
like  every  thing  else  in  the  country,  wants  that  spirit  of  liberty, 
without  which  the  light  of  life  goes  out. 

Occidental  Europe  is  not  aware  of  the  degree  of  religious  in- 
tolerance that  enters  into  Russian  policy.  The  worship  of  the 
United  Greeks  (the  Uniates)  has  been,  after  long  and  heavy  per- 
secutions, abolished.  The  following  fact  will  show  the  danger 
incurred  in  Russia  by  speaking  of  the  Greek  religion,  and  of  its 
little  moral  influence. 

Some  years  ago,  a  man  of  mind,  highly  esteemed  by  every 
one  who  knew  him,  noble  both  by  birth  and  character,  but,  unfor- 
tunately for  himself,  devoured  with  a  love  of  truth, — a  passion 
dangerous  every  where,  but  mortally  so  in  Russia, — ventured  to 
print  that  the  Catholic  religion  is  more  favourable  to  the  develop- 
ment of  mind,  and  to  the  progress  of  arts,  than  the  Russian  By- 
zantine. The  life  of  the  Catholic  priest,  he  says  in  his  book,  a 
life  altogether  supernatural,  or  which  at  least  ought  to  be  so,  is 
a  voluntary  and  daily  sacrifice  of  the  gross  inclinations  of  nature ; 
a  sacrifice  incessantly  renewed  on  the  altar  of  faith,  to  prove  to 
the  most  incredulous  that  man  is  not  subjected  in  all  things  to 
the  tyranny  of  material  laws,  and  that  he  may  receive  from  a  su- 


DANGER    OF    SPEAKING    OF    RELIGION    IN    RUSSIA.  49Y 

perior  power  means  of  escaping  it :  he  adds,  "  By  virtue  of  the 
changes  operated  by  time,  the  Catholic  religion  can  no  longer 
employ  her  virtuality  except  in  doing  good :  "  in  fact,  he  main- 
tained, that  Catholicism  was  wanting  to  the  great  destinies  of 
the  Sclavonian  race,  because  in  it  alone  could,  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  be  found  sustained  enthusiasm,  perfect  charity,  and 
pure  discernment ;  he  supported  his  opinion  by  a  great  number 
of  proofs,  and  endeavoured  to  show  the  advantages  of  an  independ- 
ent, that  is  an  universal  religion,  over  local  or  politically-limited 
religions  ;  in  short,  he  professed  an  opinion  which  I  shall  never 
cease  to  defend  with  all  my  powers. 

Even  the  faults  in  the  character  of  the  Russian  women  are 
by  this  writer  attributed  to  the  Greek  religion.  He  pretends 
that  if  they  are  light  and  frivolous,  and  do  not  know  how  to  pre- 
serve the  authority  in  their  families  which  it  is  the  duty  of  a 
Christian  wife  and  mother  to  exercise,  it  is  because  they  have 
never  received  real  religious  instruction. 

This  book,  having  escaped,  I  do  not  know  by  what  miracle  or 
subterfuge,  the  vigilance  of  the  censorship,  set  Russia  in  a  blaze. 
Petersburg,  and  Moscow  the  holy  city,  uttered  cries  of  rage  and 
alarm  ;  in  short,  the  consciences  of  the  faithful  were  so  disturbed, 
that  from  one  end  of  the  empire  to  the  other,  was  demanded  the 
punishment  of  this  imprudent  advocacy  of  the  mother  of  the 
Christian  churches,  an  advocacy  which  did  not  save  its  author 
from  being  reviled  as  an  innovator  :  for, — and  this  is  not  one  of 
the  smallest  inconsistencies  of  the  human  mind,  almost  always  in 
contradiction  with  itself  in  the  comedies  which  it  plays  upon  this 
world's  stage — the  motto  of  all  sectarians  and  schismatics  is,  that 
we  should  respect  the  religion  under  which  we  are  born — a  truth 
too  completely  forgotten  by  Luther  and  Calvin  ; — in  fine,  the 
knout,  Siberia,  the  mines,  the  galleys,  the  fortresses  of  all  the 
Russias  were  not  enough  to  re-assure  Moscow  and  her  Byzantine 
orthodoxy  against  the  ambition  of  Rome,  aided  by  the  impious 
doctrine  of  a  traitor  to  his  God  and  country. 

The  sentence  which  was  to  decide  the  fate  of  so  great  a  crim- 
inal was  expected  with  the  deepest  anxiety  ;  it  was  long  in  appear- 
ing, and  the  people  began  to  doubt  in  supreme  justice  :  at  last, 
the  Emperor,  in  his  unfeeling  mockery  of  mercy,  declared  that 
there  was  no  ground  for  punishment,  that  there  was  no  criminal 
to  make  an  example  of,  but  that  there  was  a  madman  to  shut  up ; 
and  he  ordered  that  the  diseased  man  should  be  placed  under 
medical  care. 

This  judgment  was  put  in  execution  without  delay,  and  in  so 


498  PARALLEL    BETWEEN    SPAIN    AND    RUSSIA. 

severe  a  manner  that  the  reputed  madman  thought  he  should 
have  justified  the  derisive  decree  of  the  absolute  head  of  church 
and  state.  The  martyr  of  truth  had  very  nearly  lost  the  reason 
that  was  denied  him.  At  present,  after  a  three  years'  treatment, 
as  degrading  as  it  was  rigorous  and  cruel,  the  unhappy  theolo- 
gian first  begins  to  enjoy  a  little  liberty  :  but  is  it  not  a  miracle  ! 
....  he  now  doubts  his  own  reason,  and,  upon  the  faith  of  the 
imperial  word,  he  owns  himself  insane  !  0  !  ye  depths  of  human 
misery  !  ....  In  Russia,  the  word  of  the  sovereign,  when  it  re- 
proves a  man,  equals  the  papal  excommunication  of  the  middle 
ages  ! 

The  pretended  madman  may  now  communicate  with  a  few 
friends.  It  was  proposed,  during  my  stay  in  Moscow,  to  take 
me  to  see  him  in  his  retreat,  but  mingled  fear  and  pity  withheld 
me ;  for  my  curiosity  would  have  appeared  to  him  insulting. 
I  did  not  learn  what  was  the  punishment  of  the  censors  of  his 
book. 

This  is  quite  a  recent  example  of  the  mode  of  treating  affairs 
of  conscience  in  Russia.  I  ask  again,  for  the  last  time,  if  the 
traveller  so  fortunate  or  unfortunate  as  to  have  learnt  such  facts, 
has  the  right  to  let  them  remain  unknown  ?  In  occurrences  of 
this  kind,  what  we  positively  know  enlightens  us  with  regard  to 
what  we  surmise ;  and  from  all  these  things  together  there  results 
a  conviction  which  we  feel  under  an  obligation  of  communicating 
to  the  world  if  we  are  able. 

I  speak  without  personal  hatred,  but  also  without  fear  or  re- 
striction ;  for  I  brave  the  danger  even  of  wearying. 

The  country  that  I  have  just  surveyed  is  as  sombre  and  mo- 
notonous as  that  which  I  described  formerly  is  brilliant  and  va- 
ried. To  draw  its  exact  picture  is  to  renounce  the  hope  to  please. 
In  Russia,  life  is  as  gloomy  as  in  Andalusia  it  is  gay ;  the  Rus- 
sians are  as  dull  as  the  Spaniards  are  full  of  spirits.  ID  Spain, 
the  absence  of  political  liberty  is  compensated  by  a  personal  inde- 
pendence which  perhaps  exists  nowhere  else  to  the  same  extent, 
and  the  effects  of  which  are  surprising ;  whilst  in  Russia,  the  one 
is  as  little  known  as  the  other.  A  Spaniard  lives  on  love,  a 
Russian  lives  on  calculation :  a  Spaniard  relates  every  thing,  and 
if  he  has  nothing  to  relate,  he  invents ;  a  Russian  conceals  every 
thing,  or  if  he  has  nothing  to  conceal,  he  is  still  silent,  that  he 
may  appear  discreet :  Spain  is  infested  with  brigands,  but  they 
rob  only  on  the  road ;  the  Russian  roads  are  safe,  but  you  will 
be  plundered  infalliby  in  the  houses  :  Spain  is  full  of  the  ruins 
and  the  memories  of  every  century ;  Russia  looks  back  only  upon 


ABSENCE    OF    LIBERTY    IN    RUSSIA.  499 

yesterday,  her  history  is  rich  in  nothing  but  promises  :  Spain  is 
studded  with  mountains,  whose  forms  vary  at  every  step  taken 
by  the  traveller;  Russia  is  but  a  single  unchanging  scene,  ex- 
tending from  one  end  of  a  vast  plain  to  the  other :  the  sun  illu- 
mines Seville,  and  vivifies  the  whole  peninsula ;  the  mists  veil 
the  distances  in  Petersburg,  which  remain  dim  during  even  the 
finest  summer  evenings.  In  short,  the  two  countries  are  the  very 
opposite  of  each  other ;  they  differ  as  regards  day  and  night,  fire 
and  ice,  north  and  south. 

He  must  have  sojourned  in  that  solitude  without  repose,  that 
prison  without  leisure  which  is  called  Russia,  to  feel  all  the 
liberty  enjoyed  in  the  other  European  countries,  whatever  form 
of  government  they  may  have  adopted.  It  cannot  be  too  em- 
phatically repeated  :  liberty  is  wanted  in  every  thing  Russian — 
unless  it  be  the  commerce  of  Odessa.  The  Emperor,  who  is  en- 
dowed with  prophetic  tact,  little  loves  the  spirit  of  independence 
that  pervades  this  city,  the  prosperity  of  which  is  due  to  the  in- 
telligence and  integrity  of  a  Frenchman;*  it  is,  however,  the  only 
point  in  his  vast  dominions  where  men  may  with  sincerity  bless 
his  reign. 

If  ever  your  sons  should  be  discontented  with  France,  try 
my  receipt ;  tell  them  to  go  to  Russia.  It  is  a  journey  useful  to 
every  foreigner  :  whoever  has  well  examined  that  country  will 
be  content  to  live  any  where  else.  It  is  always  well  to  know 
that  a  society  exists  where  no  happiness  is  possible,  because,  by 
a  law  of  his  nature,  man  cannot  be  happy  unless  he  is  free. 

Such  a  recollection  renders  the  traveller  less  fastidious .;  and, 
returning  to  his  own  hearth,  he  can  say  of  his  country  what  a 
man  of  mind  once  said  of  himself:  "When  I  estimate  myself,  I 
am  modest ;  but  when  I  compare  myself,  I  am  proud." 

*  The  Duke  de  Richelieu,  minister  of  Louis  XVIIL 


THE    END 


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CAPT.  FOOTE'S  NEW  AND  HIGHLY  INTERESTING  WORK, 


Africa  and  the  American   Flag. 

BY  COMMANDER  ANDREW  H.  FOOTE, 

Lieut.  Commanding  U.  S.  Brig  "  Perry,"  on  the  Coast  of  Africa, 
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ILLU8TEATED  WITH  HANDSOMELY  TINTED  LITHOGRAPHIC  PLATES. 
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CONTENTS. 

Discoveries  by  French  and  Portuguese  along  the  Coast— Slave  Trade  Systematized 
— "Horrors  of  the  Middle  Passage" — African  Nations — Formation  of  the  American 
Colonization  Society — Disposal  of  Eecaptured  Slaves  by  the  American  Government — 
The  Commonwealth  of  Liberia — Thos.  H.  Buchanan — Use  of  the  American  Flag  in 
the  Slave  Trade — Slavers  at  Bassa — Expedition  against  them — Conflict — Death  of  King 
Bentrerai — Expedition  of  Buchanan  against  Gaytinuba — Death  of  Buchanan — His 
Character— Condition  of  Liberia  as  a  Nation — Aspect  of  Liberia  to  a  Visitor — Condition 
of  the  People  compared  with  that  of  their  race  in  the  United  States — Schools — Condi- 
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An  Arrangement  made  with  the  British  Commodore  for  the  Joint  Cruising  of  the 
" Perry"  and  Steamer  "Cyclops" — Capture  of  the  American  Slave  Ship  "Martha" — 
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— St.  Helena — Appearance  of  the  Island — Island  of  Madeira— Interference  of  the  British 
Consul  with  the  "  Louisa  Benton" — Necessity  of  Squadrons  for  Protection  of  Com- 
merce and  Citizens  Abroad. 

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only  places  before  us  a  record  of  what  occurred  whilst  he  was  in  com- 
mand of  the  U.  S.  Brig  "  Perry,"  but  gives  us  an  account  of  the  History 
and  Government  of  the  African  Race — their  Manners  and  Customs,  an 
Account  of  the  Establishment  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Liberia,  its 
Condition,  Prospects,  <fec.,  <fec.  It  abounds  with  every  variety  of  inci- 
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have  a  wide  sale.  In  order  that  some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  cha- 
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THE  GOOD. 
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thrilled  through  the  minds  of  thousands  in  almost  every  quarter  of  the  civilized  world." 
'—Edinburgh  JReview. 


V. 

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Freely  Translated  and  Condensed  by  HARRIET  MARTINEAU.    Two 

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I. 

A    MANUAL 

OF 

ELEMENTARY  GEOLOGY;, 

Or,  the  Ancient  Changes  of  the  Earth  and  its  Inhabitants, 

AS   ILLUSTRATED   BY    GEOLOGICAL   MONUMENTS. 

BY  SIR   CHARLES   LYELL.  M.  A.,  F.  R.  S., 

Author  of  "  Frinotyles  of  Geology"  &c.  &C. 

Reprinted  from  the  last  London,  Entirely  Revised  Edition.    Illustrated  with  500  Wood- 
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standard  books  upon  those  subjects.  This  Manual  has  had  a  very  great  sale  in  England, ; 
its  successive  editions  have  kept  pace  with  the  steady  progress  of  geological  science.  To  the 
last  edition,  new  and  important  pages  have  been  added,  containing  the  latest  discoveries  in 
geology.  This  study  has  never  before  received  so  great  attention  as  at  present,  and  in  no 
other  country  can  it  be  studied  so  profitably  and  with  such  practical  results  as  in  this.'1— 
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of  those  fossil  theologians  who  esteem  it  their  duty  to  bring  the  Bible,  if  they  can.  into  con 
flict  with  the  inductive  sciences,  and  who  think  that  their  interpretation  of  Genesis  is  a 
•ufficient  reply  to  all  the  inductions  of  Geology."— Recorder. 

IL 

PRINCIPLES  OF  GEOLOGY  ;     j 

Or,  the  Modern  Changes  of  the  Earth  and  its  Inhabitants. 

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force  and  its  effects,  and  of  those  causes  producing  the  various  phenomena  disporting  over  the 
ever-changing  surface  of  our  globe. 

Geology  is  intimately  related  to  nearly  all  the  physical  sciences,  and  it  were  therefore 
desirable  that  the  student  be  well  versed  in  chemistry,  mineralogy,  zoology,  botany,  and  in 
every  branch  embracing  the  subjects  of  organic  and  inorganic  nature.  Cosmogony,  or  the 
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and  in  no  wise  concerned  with  geology."—  Th«  Cultivator. 


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Complete  in  six  volumes,  8vo.,  pica  type.     Price  in  cloth,  $9 ;  half  calf 
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"It  is  praise  enough  to  say  of  a  writer,  that,  in  a  high  department  of  literature,  i» 
which  many  eminent  writers  have  distinguished  themselves,  he  has  had  no  equal ;  and 
this  may,  with  strict  justice,  be  said  of  Addison.  .  .  .  He  is  entitled  to  be  considered 
not  only  as  the  greatest  of  the  English  essayists,  but  as  the  forerunner  of  the  great  Eng- 
lish novelists.  His  best  essays  approach  near  to  absolute  perfection ;  nor  is  their  ex- 
cellence more  wonderful  than  their  variety.  His  invention  never  seems  to  flag;  nor  ia 
he  ever  under  the  necessity  of  repeating  himself,  or  of  wearing  out  a  subject"— Ma- 
caulay. 

M  He  was  not  only  the  ornament  of  his  age  and  country,  but  he  reflects  dignity  on 
the  nature  of  man.  He  has  divested  vice  of  its  meretricious  ornaments,  and  painted 
religion  and  virtue  in  the  modest  and  graceful  attire  which  charm  and  elevate  the 
heart" — Dr.  Anderson. 

"  In  Addison  the  reader  will  find  a  rich  and  chaste  vein  of  humor  and  satire ;  lessons 
of  morality  and  religion,  divested  of  all  austerity  and  gloom ;  criticism  at  once  pleasing 
and  profound ;  and  pictures  of  national  character  and  manners  that  must  ever  charm, 
from  their  vivacity  and  truth." — Dr.  Hurd. 

"  Of  Addison 's  numerous  and  well-known  writings,  it  may  be  afHnned,  that  they 
rest  on  the  solid  basis  of  real  excellence,  in  moral  tendency  as  well  as  literary  merit. 
Vice  and  folly  are  satirized,  virtue  and  decorum  are  rendered  attractive;  and  while 
polished  diction  and  Attic  wit  abound,  the  purest  ethics  are  inculcated." — Maunder. 

"  His  glory  is  that  of  one  of  our  greatest  writers  in  prose.  Here,  with  his  delicate 
sense  of  propriety,  his  lively  fancy,  and,  above  all,  his  most  original  and  exquisite 
humor,  he  was  in  his  proper  walk.  He  is  the  founder  of  a  new  school  of  popular  writ- 
ing, in  which,  like  most  other  founders  of  schools,  be  is  still  unsurpassed  by  any  who 
have  attempted  to  imitate  him.  His  Spectator  gave  us  the  first  examples  of  a  style 
possessing  all  the  best  qualities  of  a  vehicle  of  general  amusement  and  instruction ;  easy 
and  familiar  without  coarseness,  animated  without  extravagance,  polished  without  un- 
natural labor,  and,  from  its  flexibility,  adapted  to  all  the  variety  of  the  gay  and  th*> 
aerious." — Penny  Cyclopedia. 

u  To  correct  the  vices,  ridicule  the  follies,  and  dissipate  the  ignorance,  which  too 
generally  prevailed  at  the  commencement  of  the  eighteenth  century,  were  the  great 
and  noble  objects  the  Spectator  ever  holds  in  view ;  and  by  enlivening  morality  with 
wit,  and  tempering  wit  with  morality,  not  only  were  those  objects  attained  in  an  emi- 
nent degree,  but  the  authors  conferred  a  lasting  benefit  on  their  country,  by  establishing 
and  rendering  popular  a  species  of  writing  which  has  materially  tended  to  cultivate  the 
understanding,  refine  the  taste,  and  augment  aud  purify  the  moral  feeling  of  successive 
generations." — Chalmers. 

"  He  not  only  brought  a  good  philological  taste  into  fashion,  but  gave  a  pleasing  ele- 
ration  and  popular  turn  to  religious  studies,  and  placed  Milton  upon  a  pedestal  from 
which  he  can  never  be  pulled  down." — A  iken. 

u  It  stands  at  the  head  of  all  works  of  the  same  kind  that  have  since  been  produced, 
and  as  a  miscellany  of  polite  literature,  is  not  surpassed  by  any  book  whatever."— 
Chambers. 

9  attempted  more,  if  would 


*  I  consider  the  spectator  invaluable,  as  containing  on  the  subject  of  religion 

that  the  world  would  then  bear.    Had  Addison  or  his  friends  attempted  more,  It  wo 

"been  endured.    The  work  was  a  stepping-stone  to  tmth  of  the  highest  ordei; 
:h,  our  obligations  to  It  are  groat" — John  Wesley. 


not  have  been  endured. 
<u  d.  u*  such 


APPLETON'S  EDITION  OF  THE  BRITISH  POETS, 
PKOSPEGTUS 

OF  A 

New  and  Splendid  Library  Edition 

OF  THE 

POPULAR*  POETS  AND  POETRY  OF  BRITAIN 

EDITED,  WITH  BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL  NOTICES, 

BV  THE  REV.  GFORGK  GILFILLAN, 

AUTUOB  OF  "GALLKKY  OF  LITERARY  PORTEAITS,"  "BARDS  OF  THE  BIBLE,"  ETC. 

In  demy-octavo  size,  printed  from  a  new  pica  type,  on  superfine  paper,  and  neatly  bound 

Price,  only  $1  a  volume  in  cloth,  or  $2  50  in  calf  extra. 


"  Strangely  enough,  we  have  never  had  as  yet  any  thing  at  all  approaching  a  satis- 
factory edition  of  the  English  poets.  We  have  had  Johnson's,  and  Bell's,  and  Cooke's, 
and  Sharpe's  small  sized  editions — we  have  had  the  one  hundred  volume  edition  from 
the  Chiswick  press — we  have  had  the  double-columned  editions  of  Chalmers  and  An- 
derson—and we  have  the,  as  yet,  imperfect  Aldina  edition  ;  but  no  series  has  hitherto 
given  evidence  that  a  man  of  cultivated  taste  and  research  directed  the  whole." — Athen. 

The  splendid  series  of  books  now  offered  to  the  public  at  such  an  unusually  low 
rate  of  charge,  will  be  got  up  with  all  the  care  and  elegance  which  the  present  advanced 
state  of  the  publishing  art  can  command. 

The  well-known  literary  character  and  ability  of  the  editor  is  sufficient  guaranty  for 
the  accuracy  and  general  elucidation  of  the  text,  while  the  paper,  printing,  and  binding 
of  the  volumes  will  be  of  the  highest  class,  forming,  in  these  respects,  a  striking  contrast 
to  all  existing  cheap  editions,  in  which  so  few  efforts  have  been  made  to  combine 
superiority  in  production  with  low  prices. 

Under  the  impression  that  a  chronological  issue  of  the  Poets  would  not  be  so  ac- 
ceptable as  one  more  diversified,  it  has  been  deemed  advisable  to  intermix  the  earlier 
and  the  later  Poets.  Care,  however,  will  be  taken  that  either  the  author  or  the  volumes 
are  in  themselves  complete,  as  published  ;  so  that  no  purchaser  discontinuing  the  series 
at  any  time,  will  be  possessed  of  imperfect  books. 

The  absence  in  the  book  market  of  any  handsome  uniform  series  of  the  Popular  Brit 
Ish  Poets,  at  a  moderate  price,  has  induced  the  publishers  to  project  the  present  edition, 
under  the  impression  that,  produced  in  superior  style,  deserving  a  place  on  the  shelves 
of  the  best  libraries,  and  offered  at  less  than  one  half  the  usual  selling  price,  it  will  meet 
that  amount  of  patronage  which  an  enterprise,  based  on  such  liberal  terms,  requires. 

The  series  will  conclude  with  a  few  volumes  of  fugitive  pieces,  and  a  History  o« 
British  Poetry,  in  which  selections  will  be  given  from  the  writings  of  those  authors 
whose  works  do  not  possess  sufficient  interest  to  warrant  their  publication  as  a  whole. 

It  is  believed  that  this  will  render  the  present  edition  of  the  British  Poets  the  most 
complete  which  has  ever  been  issued,  and  secure  for  it  extensive  support.  The  series  if 
intended  to  include  the  following  authors : — 


ADDISON. 

OOWPEB. 

GRAIIAME. 

OPIE. 

8PEN8ER, 

AKKNSIDE. 

CRABBE. 

GRAY. 

PARNELL. 

SUCKLING, 

ARMSTRONG. 

CRASIIAW. 

GREEN. 

PENROSE. 

SURREY. 

BARBAULD. 

CUNNINGHAM. 

HAMILTON,  W. 

PEBCY. 

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JAMES   I. 

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BUTLER, 

DRYDEN. 

JONES. 

BOSCOMMON. 

WARTON,  J. 

BYRON. 

DUN  BAB. 

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WARTON,  T. 

CAMPBELL. 

DYER. 

JONSON. 

8ACKVILLE. 

WATTS. 

CAREW. 

FALCONER. 

LEYDEN. 

SCOTT,  J. 

WHITE,  H.  *, 

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WITHEB. 

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80MERVILLE, 

JOHN  MILTON,  2  vola, ;    JAMES  THOMSON,  1  vol. ;  GEORGE  HERBERT,  1  vol 
JAMES  YOUNG.  1  vo' 


'  APPLETONS'  POPULAR  LIBRARY.  ' 

Now  Ready. 
ESSAYS  FROM  THE  LONDON  TIMES ;    A  Collection  of 

Personal  and  Historical  Sketches. 

THE  YELLOWPLUSH  PAPERS.    BY  W.  M.  THACKERAY. 
I   THE  MAIDEN  AND  MARRIED   LIFE  OF  MARY  POW- 
ELL :  afterwards  Mrs.  Milton. 

A    JOURNEY    THROUGH    TARTARY,    THIBET,    AND 

CHINA.    BY  M.  Hue. 

THE  PARIS  SKETCH  BOOK.     BY  W.  M.  THACKERAY. 
GAIETIES  AND  GRAVITIES.    BY  HORACE  SMITH,  one  of 

the  Authors  of  the  "  Rejected  Addresses." 

THE  INGOLDSBY  LEGENDS.     BY  BARHAM. 

PAPERS  FROM  THE  QUARTERLY  REVIEW. 

LITTLE  PEDLINGTON  AND  THE   PEDLINGTONIANS. 

By  the  Author  of  "  Paul  Pry." 

A  JOURNEY  TO  KATMANDU;  OR,  THE  NEPAULESE 

AMBASSADOR  AT  HOME.    BT  LAWRENCE  OLYPHANT. 

THE  BOOK  OF  SNOBS.     BY  W.  M.  THACKERAY. 

A    BOOK    FOR    SUMMER    TIME   IN    THE    COUNTRY. 

BY  THE  REV.  R.  A.  WILLMOTT. 

STORIES  FROM  "  BL ACKWOOD." 

MEN'S  WIVES.     BY  W.  M.  THACKERAY. 

LIVES  OF  WELLINGTON  AND  PEEL. 

A  SHABBY  GENTEEL  STORY.    By  W.  M.  THACKERAY. 

A  SECOND  SERIES  OF  ESSAYS  FROM  THE  LONDON 

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GAN.    BY  W.  M.  THACKERAY. 

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GEN.  8.  P.  LYMAN.    Two  vols.  16mo. 

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D.    APPLE  TON    4-    CO  MP  ANY 

HAVE  JTT8T  PUBLISHED 

u  i  r  R  -  H  n  a  r  h  & 


FROM    AN    EDITOR'S    TABLE. 

By   L.   GATLOKL   CLARK,   Editor  of  the    "  Knickerbocker  Magazine r' 

WITH   OKIGINAL  ILLU8TEATION8. 

One  voL  12mo.,  handsomely  printed  and  bound.     Price  $1  25 


OPINIONS  OF  THE  PRESS,  Etc. 

MI  have  often  thought  It  a  great  pity  that  the  sallies  of  humor,  the  entertaining  o» 
amusing  incidents,  and  the  touches  of  tender  pathos,  that  are  so  frequently  to  be  met 
with  in  the  '  Gossip '  of  the  Knickerbocker,  should  be  comparatively  lost  among  the 
multitudinous  leaves  of  a  magazine." — WASHINGTON  IKVINQ. 

"  This  will  prove  one  of  the  pleasantest  books  of  the  season,  with  alternations  ol 
healthful  mirth  and  wholesome  sadness.  The  Editor's  Table  of  the  Knickerbocker  has 
things  quite  too  good  to  be  forgotten,  and  it  is  well  thought  of  to  gather  them  and  gar- 
ner them  up  in  a  volume." — N?  Y.  Evening  Post. 

"A  collection  of  the  very  cream  of  the  good  things  which  during  nineteen  years  the 
popular  and  experienced  Editor  of  the  Knickerbocker,  Mr.  L.  Gaylord  Clark,  has  so 
bountifully  and  acceptably  spread  before  his  readers." — 2f.  Y.  Albion. 

"  A  repast  of  which  thousands  have  partaken  with  zest,  and  found  intellectual  re- 
freshment, invigorating  and  delightful,  therefrom.  Mr.  Clark's  humor  is  quiet,  soothing, 
irresistible:  it  diffuses  itself  through  your  whole  system,  and,  when  you  join  him  in  his 
benignant  smile,  a  glow  passes  all  ovor  you.  So  with  his  pathos,  it  is  net  mawkish,  nor 
exaggerated,  but  '  the  real  tear :'  and  leaves  the  reader — if  our  temperance  friends  will 
not  pervert  our  meaning — with  a  '  drop  in  his  eye'  also." — Boston  Post. 

"A  very  epicurean  feast  of  the  richest  and  daintiest,  culled  with  the  most  sedulous 
care  and  nicest  discrimination.  It  is  a  collection  of  luxuries  such  as  was  never  before 
made  on  American  soil ;  and  thousands,  when  they  hear  of  it,  will  be  ready  to  greet 
their  favorite  purveyor  wkh  old  Chaucer's  irrepressible,  '  Ah,  benedieite  !  Ah,  bene- 
dicite  r  "—K  Y.  Daily  Tribune. 

"  The  work  will  be  hailed  with  satisfaction  by  every  one  who  can  appreciate  the 
genial  humor,  wit,  and  pathos,  which  have  given  such  a  zest  to  the  Knickerbocker  for 
so  many  years." — Augusta  (Me.)  Gospel  Banner. 

"  The  title  is  a  very  taking  and  happy  one.  It  cannot  fail  to  have  a  wide  sale,  and 
become  immensely  popular;  readable,  quotable,  and  enjoyable,  for  all  ages,  sexes,  and 
conditions." — N.  Y.  Sunday  Courier. 

"  A  most  various  and  pleasant  companion  for  the  traveller  abroad,  or  the  stayer  at 
borne." — Oroydon  (Ind.)  Gazette. 

"  We  have  often  wished  for  just  this  very  book,  and  we  shall  -welcome  it  rejoicingly.* 
~-Susquehanna  (Pa.)  Register. 

"  These  '  Knick-Knacks'  are  bound  to  have  a  run  wherever  Clark  and  the  Knicker 
backer  are  known,  which  is  everywhere  this  side  of  the  Kaffirs  and  the  New-Zealand 
era." — Nashua  (N.  JI.)  Journal.  . 

"  That  will  be  a  book  for  the  million — for  all  capable  of  feeling  and  enjoying — who 
can  neither  resist  laughter  nor  forbid  tears  that  will  out,  and  must  have  vent,  when  the 
secret  strings  of  the  heart  are  touched.  '  Old  Knick '  has  many  friends  and  admirers 
who  will  thank  him  for  this  excellent  idea.  His  '  Knick-Knacks'  will  go  off  like  hot 
cakes.  They  are  just  the  article  the  people  most  affect,  and  cannot  fail  to  be  popular 
with  all  classes  of  readers." — Reading  (Pa.)  Journal. 

"To  doubt  the  success  of  the  '  Knick-Knacks'  would  be  about  equal  to  doubting  the 
success  of  the  Knickerbocker  itself,  which,  happily,  is  one  of  the  fixed  literary  facts  of 
American  history." — Godey'a  Lady's  Book. 

"Those  who  have  enjoyed  the  'feast  of  fat  things'  spread  before  them  monthly,  ir 
the  « Editor's  Table'  of  '  Old  Knick,'  need  no  artificial  stimulus  to  create  aa  appetiU 
tor  the  ' Knick-Knacks.'"— Adrian  (Mich)  Watchtower. 

"If  Clwk.  does  not  print  and  sell  60,000  copies,  'the fools  are  not  all  dea<V  >••« 
osalntain  a  very  Aafrfcri  majority  among  the  'peoples.'  "—  £>vi,taw»'s  M 


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